Danganronpa: A Hope-Filled Despair-adise
by RobertHawkinz
Summary: Eighteen students relocated by Hope's Peak are trapped on a mountain-side resort where they are forced into a horrible killing game. Now they struggle against Monokuma's successor, and perhaps the last member of Ultimate Despair is hiding in their group. Will they unite in friendship to escape together? Or will they all succumb to motives and murder before they can be saved?
1. Prologue: Resorting to Drastic Tactics

Author's Note: Due to my recent obsession with Danganronpa, I'm writing a story for it! Since I'm working to make this equivalent to its own game in terms of content, it will feature Daily Life, Deadly Life, the trial, Free Time Events, and possibly Special "Item-Activated" Cut scenes or Side Stories. Please note that this story will feature adult language, suggestive themes, dark topics, and if done right, lots of emotions. There will also be many references to sources outside of Danganronpa, and even parodies of characters from other series involved.

Hope's Peak Academy was renowned across the world for inspiring in its students a drive for success and an environment to furnish their self-interests like no other. Everyone knew the famous saying; once you graduated from Hope's Peak Academy, you were set for life. The school basically guaranteed success.

As one can imagine, everyone would kill to go to a school like that. However, there were no entry exams or prior testing. There were only two requirements to attending the school.

The first was that you had to be a currently enrolled high school student. Easy enough.

The second required you to be the best at whatever you do. This requirement was much more vague. People have been chosen as an Ultimate: martial artist, baseball star, fan fiction writer, Fashionista, Programmer, Hacker, Bodyguard, Musician, Coach, Breeder, et cetera. Many attendees of the school were already notably famous, such as pop star Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, or Mondo Oowada, the infamous biker gang leader who put fear into the hearts of mortal men.

Getting chosen to go to a school like that is absolutely terrifying. Being surrounded by people like Byakuya Togami or even Celestia Ludenberg would make anyone feel inferior and worthless. Depending on your talent, you could expect some severe self-esteem issues.

I guess I should introduce myself now, then. I am one of those people whose talent is rather lacking, if I do say so myself. In fact, it's downright awful. My name is Shinji Kizami, a proud and only child to my loving parents, an accountant and a restaurant chef. Ever since I was a kid, though, I always got into some kind of trouble or another. Not to say I was a troublemaker, I just didn't fit in well...

My ultimate talent is actually the most pathetic thing you might have ever heard of. At least Komaeda was the Ultimate Lucky Student. He was a millionaire due to his sheer luck. Here I am, the lowly Ultimate Romantic. Does that sound like garbage? Crunch! Add it to the pile of things in my life I'm ashamed of.

Ultimate Romantic? What am I, the star of a Touko Fukawa novella? I'm certainly not as sexy as a fisherman, as anyone could tell. Could barely stomach reading her book, to be honest.

As for how I look, I'd say I'm relatively average height, standing at a comfortable 5'10'', or 78 centimeters. Being raised abroad for a couple years, the Imperial System has a bad habit of popping up in my head. And what a stupid system at that, but I digress. My black hair is never kept long for long before I'm forced to get it cut, so my hair usually ends up short and somewhat spiky towards the back. Since my life mostly consists of going to school and staying home alone, I am also not physically adept, though that could be said of many internet lurkers such as I. In other words, I'm not very fit. I also do horribly in higher temperatures, and the cold suits me just fine.

My black shirt is usually covered in my black and white hoodie, since I was never much for uniform or tradition. Lately, I've found myself wearing brown slacks, since they just feel more presentable than jeans. I distinctly remember getting chewed out by a buff young man with fierce, red eyes and the most intimidating of eyebrows for violating the dress code.

All that being said, what my talent is means far less excitement. I'm a romantic; as in, I'm very emotional. Wow. _Amazing, right? How am I the Ultimate at feeling? Is that even measurable? How would Hope's Peak research it?_

I assume what they really mean is they selected me due to my unique view on life, as my own circumstances are rather boring in comparison to many other students. I don't have anything to offer the world, and I would have turned them down if not for my friend's insistence.

That's how I eventually found myself sitting at a desk in a dark room. Barely able to see, I was primarily concerned with how I got there. I stumbled to my feet and walked towards the wall, feeling around for a light switch. _Where...Where...Where is the light switch!? Where is it!?_ Flick!

The light turns on. I turn around and notice the drab yellow wallpaper, and I began counting the desks. I counted a total of eighteen, and this surprised me. I had been told that classes in Hope's Peak were always set at around sixteen, but there were rumors of expanding the numbers beyond that to accommodate less typical Ultimate talents. Perhaps people like me?

I focus more on the door in front of me. The wooden door looked like the sliding ones in any school, though this was designed without windows in it, an odd design choice. _What if I hit someone sliding it open? Nah, no one would be leaning on it. That wouldn't be proper etiquette in a school like this._

"Ah!" A yelp rang out as I slid the door open, apparently ramming it into someone by some horrible mistake of my own doing. The boy who let out the squeak was now on the floor, rubbing his head, as if I had assaulted him just now.

The young man was shorter than me, and he had long brown hair tied up into one distinctive ponytail. What stuck out to me was how he wore a very flashy white jacket lined with fur over his gaudy shirt depicting Sayaka Maizono on it in a rather risque bikini. His blue eyes faded over as he stood up. I noticed he had huge gashes on the side of his face, as if he was clawed by a feisty cat."S-sorry! Satoshi said you were still asleep in there. I sorta just...blanked out, hahaha!"

I disregarded this guy for a moment to take in the surroundings. We were in an open courtyard, and the nearby picnic tables suggested it was some kind of outdoor cafeteria. He noticed my search, "Yeah, well, we all woke up in that classroom. We figured it'd be best if we searched around. None of us remember going in that room. I mean, last I recall is the train taking me to Hope's Peak."

I thought about what he said for a moment, "You know, that goes for me, too."

"Wow, really, dude?" Every word he said sounded sarcastic, and it was beginning to piss me off, "Satoshi figured that one out. Nice try, not Protagonist!"

"And why did you wait here while everyone else is investigating? You like bothering strangers?" I quipped, not giving him much thought.

He laughed heartily, though, and I wondered if I had misjudged him, "Hah, not unless you're a girl with fine fine assets, my bro. Although my charm has failed me constantly since I got to this place. For an Ultimate Womanizer like Takumi Adachi, this is unacceptable!"

 _Ultimate Womanizer? That's a talent? When was being a man whore a talent?_ I ensured not to voice my thoughts and instead replied, "Nice to meet you, Takumi. My name's Shinji Kizami."

"And what's your talent, man? Or do you not remember?" Takumi said it in a joking manner, and I felt as if I heard the laughter of a high-pitched person somewhere nearby. Takumi paid it no mind though, so I disregarded that noise for the time being.

I shook my head, "Well, actually...Maybe it's best if I don't tell you. You might misuse my powers for the greater evil."

Takumi's eyes shined, "Woah, bro! You gotta let me know! What, are you like a MILF magnet or something? Can you help me get some? I've been striking out like a blind batter at a softball game! Or Kuwata's pitchin'."

"Kuwata?" I asked. Never heard that name before, except that he was a student, one year my senior.

"You mean you don't know!? Leon is like, my spirit animal, man! He became a baseball star just to get the chicks, dig? I love that kind of dedication!" he placed both arms flat along his chest, fists curled up under his chin as he daydreamed, "'Oh, you can strike it into my batter box any time, Leon'...Oh, what a beast!"

I slowly took a step back, as if the amount of testosterone would consume my soul. This guy seems like he eats a diet of Man Nuts, "So, any idea where we are? This is definitely not the school. Although with an outdoor cafeteria..."

Takumi nodded excitedly, "Oh, yeah, bro! This place is like a, fine resort! There's stairways leading up to the top of that mountain there!" he pointed to a large mountain behind the building I emerged from, and had the sun been in a different position in the endless, blue sky, I might have noticed the shadow creeping along the ground sooner, "They're caged off, though. Says something about how they unlock after a trial has passed."

 _A trial? What is this, Ace Attorney? Or do they mean tests of endurance, strength, and skill? Could Hope's Peak have a test to better assess our abilities?_ "Well, Takumi, you've been very helpful. Surprisingly, even. Do you know where the others might be?"

He put his right index finger to his nose, itching it as he replied, "Probably around. Just explore, look for them. Get out more, you look pale, dude. Girls do not dig pale guys."

"Twilight begs to differ!" I coughed, once, twice, very quickly, to disguise what I said, "Yeah, uh, I'll take your advice."

Takumi nodded, "Alright, see you later. Make sure to give me all the deets on your talent, though. Maybe we can make ourselves a harem! I'm gonna go hide my stash. Can't let the teachers find it day one, am I right? Hahaha!" Takumi ran off towards what seemed to be a small hotel with cottages outside of it. I had a feeling like he was going to ruin everything.

I decided to very reluctantly follow Takumi towards the cottages and inspected them all. In front of each one was a picture of someone's face. The nine girls were situated on the right side, and the boys were sentenced to the left side.

"Crap! Furthest from the ladies! What a drag!" I heard Takumi lament his fortunes further down the way, and noticed mine was nearest to the girl's side. The girls are lucky I'm not anything like Takumi.

"Hey, you! Are you trying to creep on us, too?" I turned to see a beautiful girl standing before me. I took a step back, almost involuntarily, and I stumbled a bit and fell onto the hard tile. This girl before me sported a cherry red sweater, and it matched her red hair, longer in the back, though her bangs were cut to where they could conceal just her right eye. Her black miniskirt just echoed my thoughts of how confident she must be in herself, and her stockings only confirmed that. She was dressed like she was about to make some guy lucky, more than go to a school. Her green eyes looked me over, as if assessing my worth, "Well?"

I stuttered as I tried to respond, "Uh, um, n-no! I just woke up and I was checking out the cottages...I wasn't doing anything weird. Yet."

"Yet?" She spoke with a very serious attitude, "Do I have to discipline you, too? I might have hurt Takumi more if he hadn't started telling me to hit him harder," she visibly shuddered, sickened by his antics, "Well?"

I stood up very slowly so as not to set her off. She was an Ultimate, and for all I know, she could murder me. Repeatedly, "I-I'm just a...Well, my name is Shinji Kizami. I guess I slept in, but I don't mean you harm. If you want me to leave, I-I'll-"

The girl burst out laughing, and as she snickered at my reaction, I noticed just how beautiful she looked in the sunlight. I finally understood what Ultimate really meant, and Takumi's fixation made sense now. This girl was dangerous. And I had to admit, I liked it.

"Wow, jeez, calm down! I'm not going to kill you, man! Yeah, I punished Takumi over there, but he asked for that!" She pointed in his direction, and we heard rustling.

"Dude, my stash! My limited edition Big Tits, Cosplay Girls Magazine! It's gone! Damn, knew I should have unstuck those pages..." I gagged at the thought of what horrible things Takumi had done with that magazine.

The girl smacked her own face with her palm, letting out an exasperated sigh, "I am so done with his attitude, right now. We're locked in some kind of, of resort. We don't remember how we got here or why we're the only ones here, and he's concerned about spanking material!"

I nodded, "Well, a man is a man after all. Though he takes it a bit far..."

The girl wrapped her arm around me, "Oh, is that so? Do you like magazines? Or are you into hentai? Maybe you like to use your good old imagination and fantasize about every hot girl you meet in the most carnal of ways..." She said this as she placed a hand over her heart, and I knew she had just made herself jiggle on purpose, "Am I on the menu?"

"Maybe you are Takumi's type. So forward..." I tried to rebuke her, but the blush on my face clearly betrayed my true thoughts, "Uh, so yeah. I don't mind tellin' you my talent. Takumi'd probably misinterpret it though. I'm...The Ultimate...Romantic."

I said this, my face eyeing the ground in shame, "Oh, a touchy, feely kind of guy? You like to experience romance along with your daily dose of fanservice, hm? Must be a visual novel lover, I bet." She laughed at her own joke.

I stepped back, raising my voice slightly, "I'm not just a bleeding heart, okay! And visual novels are a wonderful experience for more than just the adult content, thank you very much!"

She laughed again, "Calm down, Shinji. I understand...I sort of like them, too," She said that last part under her breath, as if she was scared as to how I would react.

"Then maybe we can discuss that later, you know? But first you should introduce yourself. I don't want to call you Girl whenever I meet you," I said, trying to maintain my dignity, though I knew that had already failed me.

"Shinju Sakyubasu at your service! No, really, that's my last name. Dad changed it himself, and he's a bit of an ass. Then again, I think I could pull the part of a Succubus, huh?" she posed as she placed her right hand on her cheek, her body bent with her left hand on her hip in the sassiest way possible, "Like this?" she then put her hands behind her back and puffed her chest out towards me, "Or maybe this?"

I could barely react to this properly, so in a high-pitched voice I shot back, "Yeah, you could! Can you stop? It's embarrassing!"

She laughed at me once more, and I began to dislike how amusing I was to her, "Fine, fine. I'm the Ultimate Poet, in case you cared. I write fiction and other things in my spare time, when I'm not reading or watching shows, or playing my VNs. Although I certainly do enjoy the, ahem, more adult nature of them. Hahahaha!"

I felt calmer already, as the worries of the past mounting up faded away. If she was here, acting so casually, how could this situation be so bad? Maybe I just needed to be a little hopeful, "Nice to meet you," I extended my hand to shake hers. I thought to myself she might be joking so much to comfort me in this insane and bizarre scenario.

She instead decided to hug me. Bringing me closer, she pressed herself tightly against me. I could feel the finer curves of her body as she looked at my reaction, and I began to fear I might have a bloody nose. Before I knew it, the hug was over, "Oh, s-sorry. I uh...I'm a hugger. Handshakes seem too formal. I mean, we're classmates! We are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the near future, right!?"

Noticing how embarrassed she looked, I optioned not to call her out on her hug, as I had to admit, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

"Dammit!" Takumi shouted aloud, "Already!? My title means nothing here!? I get beaten, and you get to feel that finely tuned body on yours!"

Shinju rolled her eyes, "He's special, Takumi. He's not in it to stick it. Plus, he's more my type than a guy like you!"

She put emphasis on the last word, and Takumi just hung his head in shame, "Man, just you wait! Soon, I'll be drowning in pu-" Before he could finish that sentence, a small bird flew past his ear, and he freaked out, passing out to the ground, unable to retain his dignity. He quickly regained his composure, or tried to, and ran inside, "Damned birds!"

As Takumi fled inside, Shinju nodded in the direction of the ramp leading up to an elevated courtyard area, "Ultimate Tamer, two-o'clock."

The girl walking towards us was very oddly dressed. Her long, blonde hair extended far below her shoulders, and it waved back and forth in the hot, summer breeze. She was wearing a black coat, covering her body tightly, and she had an annoyed expression on her face. Her grey eyes were what stuck out to me, as did the scar running across her lips, as if clawed by a magnificent beast.

"Shinju, really? First you cling to Satoshi, and now you try to seduce the new kid?" She spoke in a surprisingly deep and serious, almost melancholy tone.

"Sorry, Koneko. I was a vewy bad girl, wasn't I?" She spoke, blatantly mocking her companion, who did not take kindly to her jests.

The girl, whom I now noticed was sporting what seemed to be cat ears peeking out from her hood, rolled her eyes, "Can you not play games with me? Or him? Lord knows you might tease the wrong person."

"It's alright, miss. She isn't bothering me, though I'm not used to getting treated like...that. My name's Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic...Crap title, huh? My talent blows..." I said solemnly, condemning my own fate to a boring existence.

The girl, Koneko, slowly tilted her head, like a curious dog, "No, it is not so bad. Perhaps being an emotional person will be of use to you. At the very least, you are more mannered than Takumi. He's made a poor impression on all of the girls here, and I'm certain a few of the guys distance themselves from him. My name is Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer. My older brother was the Ultimate DNA Manipulator, and he managed to get many esteemed awards. As for myself, I found myself working with a Gundham Tanaka very often in my line of work. The Ultimate Breeder, he's now known. Unlike him, I don't breed animals. I just tame wild ones, or those hurt by humans."

I had the brief image of a depressing commercial about puppy mills and sad music in the background as someone showered love and praise on a full grown Golden Retriever. _Damn you, Sarah McLachlan!_

"This guy here is like my double! Almost the same name! Amusing, isn't it?" Shinju poked me in the side, already acting as if we had been friends for twenty years.

"Just don't call me Moron Boy," I said, blankly staring at her, "That's a really cool skill, Koneko. Animals are, they're nice. Sometimes better than people, if you know what I mean."

Koneko didn't respond for a moment, and she looked away, listlessly, as if lost in a daydream, "Y-yes. I understand what you mean."

Shinju clapped her hands together, "You wanna meet the others, right? Right? Well, I can accompany you!"

"Seems she's taken a liking to you. Try not to keep us awake at night. Takumi might die of jealousy," Koneko said that with such a straight face I was uncertain whether she was joking or not, but I quickly decided she had to be. _Right?_

Shinju pulled me along, and I barely managed to wave her off, "See you later, Kone-ko! Stop pulling so hard!" As Shinju dragged me away, I could have sworn I saw Koneko break into a smile, the first I had seen from her. Perhaps it was my imagination?

As Shinju and I walked up the ramp way, I saw a yellow camera situated on an edge, probably following our every movement, "What's with Big Brother?" I pointed to the camera. Getting watched made me feel uneasy.

Shinju scratched her head, running her slender fingers through her soft hair, "Well, we assume it's to keep watch. They're everywhere except our personal cottages. A note said the headmaster doesn't wanna know what awful things we teens get up to in the privacy of our own rooms. I'm sure he directed that at Takumi, mostly."

"Stop picking on Master Takumi, he's not thaaaat bad," A voice startled the both of us, and we turned to see a tall young man, who towered over me by a few inches. The man had slick black hair and scars all across his face, as if he had been through war or the like, and his build was unnaturally terrifying. His outfit was very fancy, black stripes on a suit with a rose placed above his white dress shirt. His black slacks and dancing shoes matched his outfit perfectly. His deep voice was exactly what I expected.

Shinju stomped her feet on the ground, "Yoshikazu! Don't go spooking us!"

Yoshikazu only nodded in response, "I understand, Mistress Sakyubasu. I will abide by your request," he turned to me, "Excuse me, Master, my name is Yoshikazu Shinozaki. I am the youngest in a long line of butlers, dedicated to bringing glory and pride to the shogunate families. As the Ultimate Butler, I will do my best to accommodate all of your needs."

I was surprised by how kindly he articulated his thoughts, "You can just call me Shinji Kizami. Or just Shinji. I don't have a need for such formalities."

"No!" he raised his voice, which caused me to jump in fear, "It is the duty of a butler to treat everyone in his company with the utmost respect at all times! Anything less would be a disservice to my family name!"

Shinju laughed, "Yoshikazu's a bit forceful, and he might look scary, but he's a teddy bear at heart. He's also very helpful, and he has even offered to use the kitchen inside that cafeteria you were at to make us our daily meals. He doesn't trust strangers to do it."

He bowed in reverence, "I thank you for your words, Mistress Sakyubasu." he turned to me and bowed once more, "And you, Master Kizami. If you have any requests, you must merely ask."

I tried to find a proper response, "I, I'll do that. Thanks. Have you discovered anything about the environment?"

Yoshikazu forcefully nodded, "Yes, let us move at once!" Yoshikazu hurriedly ushered us into the nearest building, which seemed to be a lounge. There was a cafe in the back, with blenders, espresso machines, and even a soda fountain. He motioned for us to sit down at a table in the center, and placed a large hand-drawn map upon it.

"What is this?" Shinju asked, not expecting such fine details on a map written on the back of a small poster.

Yoshikazu pointed, "Here are the cottages next to the cafeteria, where I will appropriate meals at morning, noon, and night, at 7 AM, noon, and 5 PM sharp. Up this ramp, you have this building, the cafe and lounge. Around this perimeter, we have a community bathhouse, with separate locker rooms and a pool. Next to that are the bathrooms," he motioned to the far side, furthest from the red x on the map, "There's also a two-story library on the middle right side. Down from that is an arcade, along with a healthy collection of quarters for us to play to our heart's content."

"What's this in the middle?" I pointed to the center, a large rectangular box labeled "Important".

Shinju answered, "It's a stage. I think that is where the headmaster will announce things, and the like."

Yoshikazu nodded, "Well said. This building up north from here is a small pharmacy, with basic amenities. For some odd reason, there are also mysterious, unlabeled bottles. To protect you all, I boxed them up and hid them away."

"That may have been a good call. Unlabeled medications could potentially be very dangerous," I agreed with Yoshikazu's quick thinking, and I gave him a thumbs up, "I'm already very impressed by your work, Yoshikazu. You are certainly an Ultimate."

Yoshikazu blushed, and I wondered if he got complimented very often, or if his masters only took his talent for granted, "Thank you, sir. Finally, this red x is a gateway leading to a trail of stairs heading further up the mountain. No attempts made by any of us have done anything to even make it budge."

I slowly got to my feet, once again extending my hand, in an attempt to shake Yoshikazu's, although he shook his head, "Well, in either case, I'm very grateful for your help, Yoshikazu. I'm the Ultimate Romantic, in case that matters. It would be preferable of you not to mention that to Takumi, I fear he might think ill of me."

Yoshikazu grunted in acknowledgement of my request, and he stumbled off, very quickly, "Ah, it's almost noon. Tootaloo, it's time to make food!"

As Yoshikazu quickly sped off, I wiped some of the sweat off my brow. It wasn't too hot, but I didn't do well in heat whatsoever, "Well, he's very kind. And helpful. Hope he relaxes, on occasion."

Shinju grabbed my hand, "So wanna go exploring, or wanna make some drinks first? You look a bit sickly."

I eyed the cafe, "Is it alright for us to use them?"

Shinju laughed, "Yeah, we got a note telling us we could use the facilities as we need. Maybe this is some kind of school trip. My heart throbs at what kind of things await us here!"

Another mysterious, high-pitched laugh in the distance.

Shinju and I made our way over, and she quickly began fixing herself an espresso.

"Shinju! Protein drink! Stat!" Shinju opened the small refrigerator and slipped out a large protein drink and quickly threw it behind her, not even looking.

I turned to see an extremely fit-looking young man wearing no shirt, boxing gloves, and green track pants catch it, his hand moving so fast I could barely watch it. He had red hair with blue and white highlights, giving him an oddly patriotic look, though not for Japan, certainly. Before he said anything, he opened the bottle and quickly slurped down the contents. As each gulp of drink traveled down his throat, I noticed he was covered in sweat, glistening off of his pecs and abs. He finished the drink and tossed it into the trash. He cracked his neck, followed by his knuckles.

"'Sup, new meat. What are you, anyways, the Ultimate Hibernator? Wasting such beautiful sunshine!" he talked down to me, his suave voice not befitting of his looks. He sounded like an aristocrat, but an aristocrat who boxed?

I stumbled over my thoughts as I tried to respond, "Ultimate Boxer, I presume? My title is the Ultimate Romantic, but it's worthless. You can just call me Shinji. Shinji Kizami."

"A pathetic title befitting a weakling like you," he shot back, "My name is Akihiko Tanaka, and I am the greatest boxer to grace the lands. Hit me up if you want to train like your life depended on it. Or you need me to knock you flat. You won't last as long as a training dummy. It's unfortunate we have no access to a gym, so I suppose shadow boxing must suffice for now."

Shinju scoffed, "Akihiko, cut the crap. He's not like Takumi. Been on his best behavior, so far."

Akihiko chuckled at this, and his former persona faded away, "Got you, didn't I? As a boxer, people expect me to uphold some kind of personality. My persona is that of my status, an aristocratic boxer bred for success. Truth is, though, I'm the best at what I do because of dedication and hard work, though my boss doesn't seem to think so."

His former voice changed to a much more country-styled tone, one with its own unique eccentric style. I tried to laugh a bit, but I was too nervous, "S-sorry. I don't get out much. I might take you up on that offer, though. Training from the Ultimate Boxer sounds like it would do me a lot of good."

"Shucks, yes it will! Oh, wow, that was a bit excessive. Must keep up appearances, you know. Only Shinju knows I'm actually like this. I haven't gotten to know the others too well. Then again, when she draped herself over me, it was hard for me to keep up my facade," Akihiko said this with red cheeks, and he must have been reflecting on her past actions.

Shinju drew up her finished espresso, and settled at the nearest table, legs crossed, "My methods are quick to getting people to talk, you know. And it's not like I sleep around. My blood is perfectly acceptable to use to summon the Dark Devas of Destruction!"

Akihiko laughed, "Hah, you a virgin? I can't belie-"

Shinju shot him a dangerous glare, "You may be fast at boxing, but you know what my nails can do."

"Is that why Takumi had cuts?" I queried.

Akihiko nodded, "So Takumi grabs her ass, right? And she tells him to let go. And the bastard says, 'Make me!' The poor man was screaming in agony. 'Oh not the face! Not my perfect face! My modeling career is ruined!'"

"He's a model?" I legitimately was surprised. He was a harbinger of fashion? And looking good!?

Shinju sipped from her cup, "Maybe now he can get more rugged roles. Show everyone the 'I don't take no for an answer' look that any lecher would be proud to have."

As she said this, two new people walked in, both girls. The girl on the left had short, brown hair, and she was wearing a typical school uniform, a sailor outfit, as if it was necessary. Her brown eyes settled on me, though I could not discern the intent behind them. She stood in a very dignified way, like a noble might.

Next to her, her companion looked much more jovial and kind. Her long black hair trailed behind her, and her face offered a radiant light of kindness that any would desire to bask in. She had a mole above her upper lip on the right side, and her large blue eyes scanned over me in a much less intrusive way. She was wearing a purple sundress, and she had a locket around her neck, made of gold. Or at least painted that color.

Shinju noticed where I was looking, and she took another sip of her drink, not even moving an inch, "Nari, Emiko. Welcome back!"

One of the girls ran up to me and quickly grabbed my hand, shaking it wildly, "Nice to meet you! I'm Emiko Norita, and I'm the Ultimate Babysitter! Obviously, I work best with children, but I've been told I put forth a relaxing atmosphere that calms those around me. Even grumpy Nari warmed up to me!"

Nari, the other girl, groaned, "Don't call me grumpy. I just hate wasting my time."

Emiko laughed, "See? She even refused to greet the others at first, but I got her to open up and live a little!"

I was once again clueless on what to say. Each Ultimate was so uniquely different, and I had no idea what to expect, "Well, nice to meet you, Emiko. My name is Shinji Kizami, and it's a pleasure to meet you both," I tried to smile my best, but I was quickly shot down.

"Yeah, you look so happy to meet us," Nari interrupted Emiko's next attempt to blurt something out, "I'm Nari Kawasaki. The Ultimate Tutor. I'm not qualified to be a teacher yet."

Emiko laughed, "We get along so well because she's a total softie. She distances herself from older people, but she really likes the younger kids. She's so much kinder in a classroom or working with younger people!"

Nari yelled, "Emiko, stop psychologically evaluating me! Keep your trap shut!"

Emiko laughed, "It's fine, Nari," Nari continued to glare at her, so Emiko conceded, "I'm a psychology nerd. I found it amusing, but when I put it into practice in my babysitting job, it took off. I can calm down any rowdy kid and save someone a night of sleepless agony!"

Emiko finally let go of my hand and ran over, pushing Nari closer to me, "Come on, introduce yourself! You know you want to!" She sang aloud the last part.

Nari quickly shrugged her off, and she looked me over up close, a disappointed look on her face, "I suppose we're classmates. Don't expect me to like you. Or talk to you. Although if you get into trouble academically, I might be willing to help you. As long as you don't make it sound creepy."

"Takumi?" I asked.

"Takumi," Emiko confirmed, "He asked Nari for some private lessons. Not sure why Nari refused him, though. Isn't studying alone a better environment?"

"Emiko! Studying was not on his mind!" Nari quickly shot back, blushing, both from embarrassment and anger at Emiko's oblivious nature, "As long as you don't try anything, I might deign myself to help you. So keep your act together!"

Nari quickly grabbed a vitamin water drink and walked out, exasperated, "Catch up to me when you can, Emiko!"

Emiko quickly followed, "See you later, Akihiko-kun! Shinju-chan! Shinji-kun!"

"Well, that was enlightening," I could barely contain my exhaustion. These people were helpless, huh?

Akihiko laughed once more, "Well, you're popular, huh? Nari hasn't offered to tutor a boy before. You're the first to make a good impression on her. Take advantage of that, hahah! Melt that tsun tsun down!"

Shinju grumbled under her breath, though I dismissed it.

After she finished her drink, we made our way to the pharmacy, where we encountered a man stocking up on things, placing them into his box, "Uh, hello?"

The Ultimate turned to me, his blue eyes full of fear, his blond hair slicked back with his own sweat and blue highlights running through it. He was gathering what seemed to be pain medication, though I couldn't fathom why. He stood up, at least 6 feet if I had to venture a guess, only outmatched by Yoshikazu's height.

"Takeshi, what's wrong? Stocking up? What, you got chronic pains?" Shinju asked, tilting her head, finger to her bottom lip.

Takeshi stepped back, closing the box behind him and bringing it around, carrying it. The box had to be pretty heavy, weighed down with all those allergy medications and supplies, "I do not need to be interrupted. Out of my way!"

"I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone, Takeshi." I tried to reason with him.

"No! I refuse to be toyed with! Trust no one, ever! Especially a shady fuck like you!" Takeshi quickly became angry and irrational, sending hurtful words my way.

"Takeshi, calm down!" Shinju attempted to calm Takeshi, who refused.

Takeshi laughed it off, "Yeah, right! Out of my way, slut!" Takeshi pushed his way past both of us, but I grabbed his shoulder, refusing to let him get away with that last remark.

I grabbed him and forced him towards me, using every reservoir of strength I had within me, "You apologize to her, right now!"

Takeshi shook me off, dropping his box, and he threw a punch, "Back off, you autist!"

I took the punch directly to my right cheek, but adrenaline pumping in my blood gave me the power to push past such a trivial matter. I brushed it off, even though it stung quite painfully, "What are you doing!?"

Takeshi swung again and Shinju took the blow this time, trying to stop his fist. Instead, he elbowed her in the face in retaliation. That was the last offense. As Shinju wiped her face off, checking for blood, I moved in.

I lunged, sending my fist deep into his gut. Takeshi coughed heavily as my blow landed, and I stepped back. He stumbled to his knee, coughing heavily.

"You're bleeding..." Shinju wiped a streak of blood off of my face, and I realized the ring on Takeshi's finger must have cut me.

Takeshi finally stopped coughing, and he just breathed heavily, "Fuck, man...No one else threw a punch!"

I grabbed Takeshi by his collar and lifted him up, using all of my strength, "Apologize to the lady. Now."

Shinju sighed, "It's alright, Takeshi's just like this. Threw a punch at Akihiko, and even Emiko. They both dodged, though."

"Fuck no! If we're going to be classmates and get along, I'm not puttin' up with this bullshit!" Takeshi tried to claw his way out of my grasp, so I brought his face closer to mine, "You want to leave? Then say it."

He tried to pull himself away and I let go, using his own momentum to send him sprawling, crashing hard onto the tile floor, "Damnit! I'm sorry! Fuck this!" He quickly grabbed his box and ran out of the pharmacy. I wiped blood off of my cheek to confirm what Shinju said.

Shinju laughed a bit, "Were you trying to avenge my honor? Like a hero in shining armor? You are a romantic, huh?"

"Sh-shut up! I just don't like people hitting innocents like that," I could barely contain my disgust with Takeshi's attitude.

Shinju poked me in the chest, "You didn't retaliate until he hit me, though. Suspicious isn't it? He didn't hurt me, I was just surprised."

I covered my mouth with my hand, thinking of what to say, "Regardless, that wasn't okay. So what's his problem?"

"No idea. He won't reveal his talent. When he woke up, he tried to flee, and only after much prodding did he give us his name. Takeshi Kurosawa. From a family of law enforcement and Shinto priests, I hear," Shinju stopped as she looked around, "No one else is here, or they would have made themselves known. We should move on."

I sighed. Takeshi had a look of true fright when the two of them walked in. What made him so paranoid? So confrontational? I was curious, but I opted to ignore him for now. Prodding him for information wouldn't get me anywhere except into more violence, and I heavily disliked such tactics.

Before we could leave the room, however, the door burst open, and we were greeted by a couple of new Ultimates; a boy and a girl.

The boy had very short hair, cut to maybe an inch or less. Oddly, the front hair was lighter than the rest, a mix between black and brown. His black-rimmed glasses gave him a bit of a nerdy look, but I was certainly not one to judge. His shirt depicted some adorable penguins dancing, and he was wearing everyday jeans. He had a smile on his face, as if he had no care in the world, and I felt like he would be a laid back dude.

The girl next to him also wore glasses, the round-rimmed kind. She had long pink hair groomed into a ponytail, and she was slightly shorter than the boy, Shinju, or myself, though she was crouched. She was wearing an over sized hoodie that reached down to her knees, in almost comical fashion. The green hoodie left an impression, due to the bagels lovingly woven into the design.

As soon as they noticed us, the boy greeted us first, quickly taking initiative, "Oh, Shinju! Is this that last guy? Finally wok-...Wow, you're bleeding. What happened!?" He gave me a concerned look, and I mentally relaxed. Finally, someone normal!

"Takeshi hit me and cut me with his ring, that's all," I calmly replied.

The girl, who was carrying a notepad with her, frowned upon hearing this news, "He attacked someone else? How violent of him! Why is he like that?"

The boy suggested, "He's crazy bananas, probably."

I wiped my cheek again with my right hand and extended my left, "Name's Shinji Kizami. I'm the Ultimate Romantic. Boring title, huh?"

The girl shook my hand, smiling, "Nice to meet you. I'm Shizue Koga. Hope's Peak allocated me the role of Ultimate Cosplayer. Obviously, I'm not doing it right now, but people say that once I gear up in my homemade costumes, I get so in character that it legitimately shocks people into being unable to move from my skill. I love dressing up, but it's distracting, and I don't really act like myself. Hahaha!"

Meanwhile, her companion stared at me fiercely, as if suspicious, "You related to a bastard named Yuuya?"

I thought about it for a moment, feeling that it was quite familiar to me, "Oh, I think so! He's...a cousin of mine. Never met him, though. Heard all he does is fight with his siblings, though. I'm an only child, though, so...I don't know the feeling."

"Well, alright then. Had to check," he adjusted his glasses, "My name is Nico...I'd prefer you call me that or Nico B. My... real name's a secret, hehe! Plus, it's not really needed, and I'd rather people not try to find out where I live, hahaha!"

I nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I can imagine. So I assume if you have a nick, you're some kind of...secretive Ultimate talent holder?"

Nico laughed, "Well, it's more like my fans don't know my real name, so were I to be included in any kind of story, all they'd have to go by is Nico! Hahaha!"

I wondered what that had to do with us calling him Nico, but I shrugged it off, "I don't mind callin' you Nico. You seem like a nice guy, so let's just leave it at that."

Nico nodded, "Uh...Thanks for that? Wow, most people tend to try and dig deeper. I understand my Penguins are curious, but... Oh, right. This must make no sense. I happen to have been awarded the Ultimate Title...that I don't think I really deserve!" he laughed at this, though it sounded nervous, "Uh, anyways. The Ultimate Rising Star. What they mean by that is, I suppose, that I've been slowly making headway in terms of popularity on YouTube. I mean, I really am proud of what I've accomplished, but more than anything, I'm just glad to make people smile, even if it's only a bit every day."

Shinju shrugged, "Youtuber, huh? Gaming?"

"Well, yeah. I try to do things that are less popular, or really meaningful to me, I guess. Honestly, I play all kinds of games, but some are certainly more popular than others. Ace Attorney, mystery games, and sometimes some very...fucked up games, if I'm honest!" He laughed again, but I could tell he was serious.

Shizue nudged Nico, "Hey, we came to get Pepto Bismol, right?"

Nico seemed startled for a moment, "Oh, right! Ate too many bagels again! Dang, but Yoshikazu makes some great food! They were so delicious, I could practically taste the hope!"

Shizue laughed, "Plus, you could fake a murder."

"True. Everyone knows blood looks like Pepto Bismol, am I right?" Nico made a joke, but it was a bit dark, "Let's not talk about murder, though. This's a fun resort! Sounds like a great place. Can't shake the feeling I'm forgetting something, though."

Shinju nudged me, and I was reminded we had others to meet, "Well, Shizue, Nico, we'll talk to you later. I have to meet the others. We can hang out later, for sure!"

Nico and Shizue both nodded, "Sure thing!" Shizue gave me a thumbs up, and we passed each other.

I stepped outside, and just then I noticed another new student walking along, sliding himself into the library. Shinju noticed him as well, and we both summarily decided to follow him. Before we went inside, we noticed a girl follow him inside, very stealthily, and we exchanged curious glances with each other.

As we followed her inside and the door creaked open, she let out a shriek as we surprised her, and she ran off towards the upper floor, scattering papers discarded on the stairs all about.

The boy we trailed walked over to us, not very amused, "Shinju, scaring Hanako again, I see." He wore an orange and red scarf, and his dark green hoodie masked his colorful grey design on his black shirt. He wasn't very lean, but he didn't look out of shape. His glasses were clouded over, making me very curious as to whether he could see with them or not. His short black hair was messy, but he paid it no mind.

"Hey, Kenji. Know why she's following you?" Shinju asked, giving her sassiest pose a try.

Kenji sighed, "I don't know." his voice was a bit scratchy and nasally, "Maybe I look like a lost dog to her or somethin'."

I extended my hand, "Greetings, Kenji. I'm Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic. It's a lacking title, is it not?"

Kenji shrugged it off and shook my hand, his grip tight, "I'm watching you. Walking around with this one. You could definitely be a part of something larger."

"Like the school?" I questioned him.

Kenji shook his head, "Of course not! The Illuminati, of course! Everyone knows they pull the strings! Them and those dirty feminazis..." He shuddered, "Tumblr is a dark place."

"Redditor alert," Shinju quipped, a smirk on her face.

"Quiet, you! For my introduction!" Theme music from a Super Sentai show started blasting in the background, and Kenji began doing pose after pose, "I am the one and only! The omega and the alpha! The pun-producing punisher! I am...Kenji Amagi! And I! Bring! The Fire!" He posed, his right knee on the ground, his left bent as he knelt forward, as he raised one hand above him like a holy object, his other across his heart.

"Kenji Dork boy here is the Ultimate Fire starter. As in, he's been able to produce chemical reactions to cause fires never successfully done before. Some call it a curse, considering how many home accidents he's had. Legend has it, he lit a bowl of milk and cereal on fire!" Shinju said this, all with a sarcastic tone.

"I'm a cereal killer! Look out! Loominati and crazies stand no chance! Once they face my burning wrath!" Kenji posed again. What the hell is this guy?

I noticed that the girl from before was watching over us, and I motioned towards her, "And you, young miss? I'm Shinji Kizami. Nice to meet you as well!"

She ducked behind the railing, and Kenji chuckled, "But seriously, Hanako Ikeda up there is the Ultimate Maid. Works with Yoshikazu, hence her maid uniform. Frilly as all hell. Not my style...Probably."

Shinju and I gave each other an odd look, "Well, Hanako, it's nice to meet you."

Hanako reluctantly started walking down the stairs. She seemed very timid, her long black hair flowing in the wind from the open library door. Her maid uniform was indeed frilly, and a beautiful shade of lavender where the white met with the vibrant, subtle color.

"Oh, going to greet us in person this time? How auspicious of you!" Shinju teased her, and she noticeably flinched at her remark, slowing down before continuing.

"Shinju, be nice. She's not draping her body over people like someone else we know," I joked at her expense, earning myself an elbow in the ribs and a sarcastic glare.

Kenji nodded, "That's certainly true. Satoshi, Akihiko, even Daisuke..."

"Daisuke?" I asked, "Satoshi is your like, leader, right? Who's Daisuke?"

Kenji replied quickly, "I was with him up until a moment ago. He decided to investigate the bathhouse and the locker rooms. Checking for cameras, I guess."

"Then that is our next destination," Shinju grabbed onto my arm, already trying to pull me away.

Hanako finally reached the bottom of the stairs, giving me a fearful look, "I just...Bye."

I bowed to her, similarly to what Yoshikazu did, "I mean you no harm, my fair lady. As an Ultimate Romantic, all I can really do is feel. If you ever need someone with which to discuss your woes, I'll certainly give you any time you need. Normally, I'm a loner, but it's time for me to change."

Hanako nodded instead of vocalizing a response.

Kenji laughed, "Hahaha! What are you, an Ultimate Counselor?"

We left Kenji and Hanako to their own devices and quickly made our way across the lot, heading towards the bathhouse. Operation: Locate Daisuke had begun.

As we headed over towards the bathhouse, we noticed two people talking next to the arcade. Deciding it was on the way, we both stopped over to greet them both, "Hey, fellow Ultimates!"

The girl was happy to see us, apparently, as given by her posture while she ecstatically waved to us, along with her giant grin. She was wearing a plain white dress and red heels. Hope she doesn't run in that. Her white hair was tied up into twin tails, and she merrily waved to the both of us, "Hey, what's up, guys!?

Shinju waved back weakly, "We saw each other a few minutes ago, Kibou."

Her male companion shrugged it off. He had short brown hair, his hazel eyes to match. He was about as tall and me, and our eyes met, "Greetings, young friend. I imagine you've finally awoken and Shinju here is giving you the nickel tour!" He wore a very simple school uniform, clean and neatly pressed very recently, probably by Yoshikazu.

"Yeah, met almost everyone. Just three to go, if there are eighteen of you," I confirmed, "I assume 18 since that was the number of desks in the classroom we woke up in. I counted while I was stumbling about. Nice choice by the way, leaving the door closed."

"I told Takumi to leave the door open a crack so you could see," he said with a furtive look on his face, "Did he mess that up?"

"He was sleeping against it. Hit him when I opened the door up," I calmly replied, "He also left the lights on when I left. Anyways, I'm Shinji Kizami."

"Well, that can't be helped. I'll scold him later. My name is Satoshi Hondo, and I'm the Ultimate Student Council President. Nice to meet you," he gleefully shook my hand, "Not the first, so I was told in my letter. Hope to meet my counterpart, but rumors on the grapevine say he died in an accident."

I rubbed the back of my head, unable to properly respond, "That's grim...What kind of accident?"

Satoshi shrugged, "No information was ever released by the school. Likely it happened on campus and they hid the details so as to not discourage us from joining their gracious Academy!"

"You sound proud of it." I noted.

"Pride? Hah! I have admired Hope's Peak for years! Now I get to attend it! All I gotta do is get the hell out of here. Unless that note left behind was true. Supposedly, the Headmaster left it." Satoshi passed the note to me, and I read it to myself.

'This is your headmaster! Due to recent accidents befalling the former headmasters, Jun Kirigiri, and Monokuma, I will be your new leader. You have all been brought to this island for a social experiment run by the school as requested by me! I will greet you all by the stage in the center of the courtyard at 2 PM sharp! You may use any of the amenities found here to your heart's content! Everything is provided and paid for by the organization known as Ultimate Despair, the proud manager of all of Hope's Peak's current endeavors.'

I looked up at Satoshi, "Ultimate Despair? Hell is that?"

Satoshi took the paper back from me, folding it into his pocket, "None of us have any clue. Nothing about it has been found in any of the school documents left in the library. Whatever it is it's a relatively new supporter of the school, and it's clear that they have significant power, since they have gathered us all here and rented out a resort just for us."

Kibou, who had been silent for a while, interrupted us, "Wait, wait, wait! I need to introduce myself, Satoshi!" Satoshi groaned, but Kibou ignored him, "My name is Kibou Iwata, and I am the Ultimate Reader. I can speed read at over twenty-three thousand words a minute due to my photographic memory and mastery of the language. I can read and comprehend at a 99% retention rate, and I understand fourteen different languages." She spoke disturbingly quickly, like a rapid-fire machine gun spewing words.

Satoshi added, "She's also undeniably peppy and clinging to me. I mean, I am the group leader, but must she be so restrictive?"

"Senpai, that's not fair!" Kibou pouted at him, "He and I went to school. He was always such a nice and kind Senpai, so when I got pushed up a grade, it was like a dream come true to be near him!"

I mentally groaned. Shaking off my self-deprecating thoughts that popped up, I congratulated her, "That's amazing, Kibou. I wish I had a talent like that. I'm just an Ultimate Romantic, though."

Satoshi laughed, "Well, that dispelled the last of my worries. I figured you might be something dangerous. Takeshi's confrontational, Koneko and Akihiko barely talk to us, Nari insults us, Takumi's a lecher, and the eighteenth student keeps her distance."

"I do not wish to waste words," The four of us turned and noticed Koneko standing before us, "Yoshikazu asked for me to begin gathering everyone for lunch."

Satoshi nodded, "Ah, I must be off. A leader's got to set a good example. Make sure not to be out too late meeting everyone. Talk to you later, Shinji, Shinju." Satoshi ran off towards the cafeteria.

"Wait for me, Senpai!" Kibou fled behind him, nearly tripping in her heels. I figured that would happen.

Koneko watched them go, silently, before turning back to us, "You might have to give up finding Miss Eighteen. She's been avoiding us all pretty effectively. I will see you both back at the cafeteria. I must round up Kenji and Hanako next."

"Try not to scare her off," I added, making a small joke.

Koneko smiled back at me, "I'm not Shinju, you know." Koneko walked off, seemingly in a better mood, though Shinju gave me another glare for finding her reply amusing.

"Uh, let's go find Daisuke! Right?" Shinju ignored me and huffed a sigh as she turned around stomping off towards the bathrooms. I quickly followed behind, though she deflected any attempt I made at conversation.

On our way to the bathhouses, we were stopped by one of the last three students I had yet to meet. Honestly, I was getting excited after meeting so many colourful people, whose personalities either clashed or mixed well together.

The girl that stopped us had long purple hair, and her serious expression caught me off guard, considering how happy-go-lucky so many people here were. She was not as laissez-faire as the rest, indicated by her traditional blue kimono. I also noticed she had arrows in a nicely fit pack on her back, so I quickly gathered what her talent was.

"Hello, new student. I was told by Koneko you were searching for the last three students to meet, and she sent me your way. My name is Mayumi Okishima. You may call me Mayu for short, as I find my full name to be a bit embarrassing," she bowed to me, and I returned in kind, figuring that she had to be a more traditional person, "Ultimate Archer, at your services."

Sparkles could have been flying out of my eyes as I excitedly balled my hands into fists, "Really, that's awesome! In the untamed wilderness, hunting giant beasts. Fending off criminals with nothing but wood and steel! So classic!" I noticed she was giving me an odd, almost annoyed look, as if she couldn't decide whether to slap me or crush my fabricated illusions of what the Ultimate Archer would live like.

Shinju laughed at my expense, "Wow, what a nerd! This isn't medieval times, you know!"

Mayu chuckled, calming down from her earlier confusion, "I must say, I wouldn't mind living as he said. Sounds like a robust and exciting life style. I never was allowed to do much outside of my family's estate. I was home-schooled. As such, I know very little of literature or...things of fun. Shinju has been kind enough to offer to teach me in these regards. Takumi did as well, but I sensed impure thoughts from his intentions."

"Perceptive of you. I think his only problem, really, is how one-track he's being. He-" I was cut off by Shinju, who finished my sentence for me.

"Just needs to stop. Tone it down a bit, at the very least," Shinju sighed, "I suppose every group has some weirdos."

"I'd like to talk more with both of you, but I must make my way to the cafeteria. Yoshikazu got fussy the last time I refused his kind services of knitting me a leather pack for my arrows. So kind of him," Mayu smiled as she waved us off, and I realized she was far less intimidating than she initially came off as.

We finally entered the bathhouse, where I saw him. The person before me, whom I assume was Daisuke, was broad and fit, though not as much as Akihiko. He was dancing to himself, headphones on and beats playing, wearing what hilariously contrasted with his body; a cheerleading outfit.

"Daisuke!? Daisuke!" Shinju called out to him, but he was unable to hear her, "Daisuke!"

Daisuke fumbled on his last move and his headphones fell out. He noticed us and turned off his MP3 to properly greet us, "Shinju, welcome back. Come to join me on my dancing practice, or you want to hold me close again?"

Shinju grumbled once more, "Give a couple guys a hug and suddenly you're a piece of meat. Why do I even bother...?"

This only earned her the boisterous laughter of Daisuke, who beamed, "Oh, I kid, I kid. You know I like you, darlin'. And who's this young man? He's certainly cute. Did you claim him already?"

Daisuke gave me a mischievous look, but I didn't take any offense from it, "Hi. My name is Shinji Kizami, and I'm the...Well, I'm the Ultimate Romantic. Not much of a title worth anything."

Daisuke laughed, "Dude, are you kidding? That's awesome! Means you don't get too hyped up over it. A cool talent seems nice and all, but the pressure's intense, man. People with our level of skills usually tend to crack under the pressure. Make mistakes, or bad choices. You're much less inclined to do that."

"I never really thought about it like that...I guess people with talents have to deal with constant expectations. From themselves, their families, their teammates. Maybe I got lucky, then? I guess?" I never had thought about my talent as a gift before, but, as Daisuke pointed out the freedom of thought it allowed me to have, I realized it might not be so worthless after all.

Daisuke chuckled, his face full of glee, "'Sides, it makes you a whole lot cuter," he held out his hand, and I gladly shook it, without the hesitation I had shown some others, "Name's Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader. I'm also a damn fine dancer, and you can take that to the bank!"

Shinju nudged me in the side, "I'll head to the cafeteria. You can try and find Miss Eighteen if you want, but I wouldn't get my hopes up."

As Shinju walked off, Daisuke stopped talking for a while. He went noticeably quiet, "Daisuke, you alright?"

Daisuke seemed startled when I spoke up, "Oh, uh, yeah! Just thinking about my sister. Shinju reminds me of her, is all. In a good way, I mean. Anyways, I guess it's time for Yoshikazu to treat us all to lunch, am I right? A bit late, but as to be expected. Good luck finding that other girl, she's a slippery one."

Daisuke patted me on the back, causing me a bit of pain, though it was likely not his intention. He flipped his headphones back on and began dance-walking towards the cafeteria, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Without anything better to do, I decided to search for that mysterious eighteenth student. Everyone else had already given up hope of catching her, even Kibou, which surprised me. What kind of person was she? Even Takeshi was more approachable?

I walked around the bathhouses quickly, but upon finding nothing, I walked outside into the still blazing sun. I felt as if someone was staring at me, and it sent a shiver down my spine despite how hot it was outside. I looked around, and it was then I noticed a small area filled with trees on either side, a very sparse park planted at the base of the mountain between the bathhouse and the gate. I noticed birds flying about amongst the trees, chirping happily. _At least there is some form of life on this island, besides us..._

I then noticed a tiny kitten nearby. It was brown, with black stripes all over his back. He seemed to be maybe six months old, and he was adorable. Remembering my "training", I got down on my knees and began to whisper to the kitten, who quickly took notice of my presence. I had no idea how the cat got here, or what kind of life it lived, but I didn't care about the finer details.

The cat looked at me, fear in his little yellow eyes, as expected. Humans were lumbering oafs compared to such fragile and fuzzy beasts. Despite this, he seemed to be relatively tame, as he did not flee on sight. I waited there, knelt into the finely cut grass, staring at this cute little kitten.

Once again, I felt like I was being watched, but I actively ignored it. I continued trying to talk to the kitten, ensuring him I meant the little creature no harm. After a while, he didn't move, so, defeated, I got up and left.

But I didn't give up. I walked down into the pharmacy and looked around. Surely enough, or maybe oddly enough, there was a section for pets as well, and it included food. Finding a nice can of wet cat food, I snatched it and took with me a small bowl as well.

I quickly headed back to the edge of the park, and noticed the kitten was now sitting under a park bench, warily watching me. Reminding him of my intent, I opened the can, knowing the smell, if anything, would attract the cat. Hoping the birds would leave the poor kitten alone, I filled the bowl with what the can had inside, and pushed it as far towards the little cat as I could. Throwing the can into a nearby recycling bin, I began my trek back to the cafeteria. _Can't leave a baby kitten starving, can we?_

Strolling back to where I had started my little adventure today, I didn't even notice the shadow of someone approaching me from behind. Once I noticed the sound of footsteps that weren't my own, I stopped, hesitant to turn around, "Did...Did I do something wrong?"

When I didn't get a response, I turned around, slowly. And I saw her. The Eighteenth student. She had short blue hair, and if wasn't for her black skirt and dark red blouse, I might have mistaken her for a certain hero I knew of. She also had deep blue eyes, which seemed to pierce my very soul. She wore no makeup, not in the slightest, a sharp contrast to some of the other girls, and she even stood as if she was ready to fight or flight. _Had I set her off somehow? Did she just naturally dislike me?_

I hated when what I wanted to convey wouldn't form words in my mouth, so I stumbled through an introduction, like I often had before, "H-hey there. Um...My name is Shinji. Shinji Kizami. You can call me whatever. I'm the Ultimate Romantic. Awkward, right? No real skill here."

The girl didn't respond to me, just looking me over, assessing me by whatever strange thoughts she had in her mind, "...Why did you feed that cat?"

Her question caught me off guard. So she was the one monitoring me? "Well, I've had plenty of cats in my life. Poor thing was too scared to come to me, so I figured I'd leave him some food. Might as well, right? He's a cute little bugger."

"Really?...What do you hope to gain out of feeding that cat?" She calmly asked, in a very low, almost monotonous voice.

"Hope to gain? Like, a reward? Bah...He's a kitten. He couldn't fend for himself in his position here. I'm not gonna let him starve," I spoke as if it was obvious. What was up with this girl?

"...Hm. You are much different than my brother. I am unsure of how to proceed," She said this in a very soft voice now, as if remembering something painful, "In case the others are concerned, I didn't introduce myself because it won't matter. I'm the Ultimate Thief."

"Ultimate Thief? So like, bank vaults and jewelry stores?" I was attempting to make light of the situation, but she didn't seem amused.

She sighed, "Perhaps. However, my talent is morally wrong, and as such, many people treat me with disdain equivalent to garbage. They believe that I'm a cutthroat thief who takes whatever pleases me, with no care for others."

"A careless cutthroat wouldn't have investigated me about a kitten," I shot back, trying to destroy the negative image applied to her.

For a second, she seemed to soften up, but it quickly faded away, "At lunch, I will formally introduce myself to the others. I know they'll reject me, but it's best to get that out of the way."

"I don't know, this group is pretty varied. I'm certain someone will like you for more than your talent," I tried to remain hopeful.

"Everyone who ever befriended me before just wanted me to steal for them. Friends and family...Since then, I've been outcast from my family, forced to live in shame, and they even stripped me of my names, burning me from their official records." The melancholic tone in her voice struck a chord in my heart.

I thought for a moment, before blurting out, "If they do, then screw 'em. I'll still talk to you. I don't have anything to my name I value, so it's not like you could harm me if you wanted to."

I wondered if she would be surprised by my promise, but she acted as if she had brushed it off as futile talk, "...You can call me Granberia. Considering my entire name was stripped off of me, I don't really mind, but I have grown fond of that name."

 _Wait a freaking minute. I know that reference..._ Instead of calling her out, I nodded, "Sure thing, Granberia. No problem. I could walk with you if you'd prefer that?"

She turned and began walking off, "Well, are you coming?" I was honestly surprised she accepted my offer, so the two of us walked back towards the cafeteria. We noticed everyone had already been seated, and the time was now around 1 PM.

The others glanced towards us. Some were shocked, others uncaring. The first to complain, though, was as expected, "Bro, are you serious? You won the loner chick over? Damn! Why isn't my talent working here? Is it bad mojo!?"

"It could be you're a slobbering moron who objectifies women as things you can play with," Granberia shot back, giving him no room to flee, "My name is Granberia, and you all may know that I'm the Ultimate Thief. I already know about the rest of you, through my observations. Then again, you don't hide well."

"Feisty, huh? I like that in my prey!" Takumi said this with a dirty grin on his face, earning a swift punch in the head from Shinju.

"Calm it, pervert!" She slapped her hands together, pretending she was wiping Takumi grime off of her, "I hope your stupid doesn't rub off."

Nico chuckled, "It might! He's certainly a special kind of Ultimate..." Takumi glared at Nico, who was seated beside Shizue, but he shrugged it off, "Just being honest, man."

Shizue flicked Nico on the back of his head, "Be nice!" He gave her a confused look, and she pouted, "Please?"

He sighed before giving in, "Jeez, alright. One of the only normal ones here with similar interests," he thought about what he said for a moment, "Not to say I dislike anyone here...Well, there are a couple, but I can look past that."

Takeshi sneered at him, but said nothing.

Granberia sat at the far end of the table, away from the others. Uncertain how I should act, I sat across from her. Daisuke slumped down next to me, wrapping his arm around me, "So, how did you do it? How did you crack the cold there?"

Akihiko joined in his jeering, "Yeah, man. The tsundere, the quiet girl, the loner, and the seductive chick. You've got some kind of talent."

I shrugged, blushing, "I don't know...I'm just empathetic, is all. It's hard for me to mask what I'm feeling. I guess people like that honesty."

Yoshikazu quickly walked over and laid out our food before us. He had prepared western-style burgers along with a side dish of miso soup, both of which smelled divine, "Wow, this is amazing!" Emiko exclaimed, slurping down her soup as fast as she could manage.

Yoshikazu nodded in acknowledgement, "I used the finest ingredients I could find in the kitchen, I assure you."

Kibou put some food, a bit of cooked omelette that Yoshikazu had made specifically for her and Satoshi, and pushed the fork near his mouth, "Open wide, Satoshi!" Satoshi, embarrassed, reluctantly did so, and she proceeded to spoon feed him.

Nari rolled her eyes and sat next to Kenji, who was trying to convince Hanako not to flee, "God, get those lovebirds away from me. Now is not a proper place or time."

Kenji turned to Nari, "Oh, you," he said that last word with a bit of disgust.

"What did you say, hm? Could you speak up?" Nari said, giving him a very intimidating glare.

Kenji adjusted his glasses before clearing his throat, "Oh, it's the raging Tutor, hard off from her latest period. What, mad about your breasts or somethin'?"

Nari dropped her spork onto the table, "What!?"

"Yeah, you. Salty as the ocean in here, huh? With all the blood and anger here...You should stuff it. But am I referring to your mouth? Or the tampon you clearly forgot to use?" Kenji grinned maliciously.

Every fork dropped to the bowl. Nari herself had frozen, and all of us had a foreboding feeling of despair. Nari finally responded, "Hanako? I'm sorry."

Hanako was surprised that Nari was speaking to her, "W-w-what f-for!?"

Nari stood up, clutching the spork in her hand ever so tightly, "For killing this stupid bastard!" Nari began chasing Kenji with the plastic weapon in her hand, lunging for him, though he managed to dodge and weave in between her thrusts.

"Hah, you wanna stab me!? The great Kenji Amagi!? Try harder, wench! I am too pro fo-" Kenji's gloating ended abruptly and prematurely as Nari's knee landed straight into his groin, sending him to his knees, as he made a high-pitched cry, like a dying puppy. Kenji Owned Count: 1.

Turning around, Nari tossed her spork into the trash, was handed another one by an unfazed Yoshikazu, and proceeded to begin eating her meal, all while Hanako fretted over whether to help Kenji or not.

"How do you brush off this craziness, Yoshikazu?" Satoshi asked, trying to redirect the conversation somewhere more inclusive and less hostile.

Without skipping a beat, he continued making his rounds, handing out the food he had made, making sure there was a wide variety for a multitude of tastes, "I am the Ultimate. My family has been doing this for centuries. I am no stranger to surprises. My ancestor once fed the warlords that had conquered the area and decapitated his former shogun. On the same night, and before cleaning up the mess."

"That's morbid..." Kibou was kind of disturbed by this fact of trivia.

After that odd exchange, we sunk into silence as we all ate our meals and awaited our fated meeting with our headmaster. Little did we know...How could we have ever known...

The clock struck twice at 2 PM, and immediately, Yoshikazu, Nico, Shizue, Daisuke, Akihiko, and Kibou, led by none other than Satoshi, hurried themselves over to the stage. After a long minute of silence, Nari, Kenji, Hanako, and Mayu all followed along. A sharp smack rang out as Takumi was once again harshly rejected by Koneko. In shame, Takumi fled towards the stage, his cheek a shade of red.

Takeshi sat alone, not talking to anyone or making a sound. I approached him, a bit reluctantly, "Takeshi, you coming? Look, I know it's not exciting, but I don't know what the headmaster might do if we refuse to come."

Takeshi slammed his plate of leftovers into the garbage and stormed off, "I know, I know! Fuck off!"

"Seriously?" I mumbled to myself, still annoyed by how flippant he was.

"Don't mind him," I turned to see Granberia, who had been closely watching my encounter, "Takeshi's wall will wear down over time. We should head over as well."

Koneko and Shinju appeared on either side of her, "You are gonna tell us a bit more about you. I wanna know you better," Shinju came off a bit strong, but her heart was in the right place, "We want to be friends with everyone here. I know it's not easy, but..."

Koneko tried to simplify, "We're not exactly like the others. We don't mind your talent. As long as you respect us, we will treat you respectfully as well."

Granberia was cautious as to how to respond, so I prodded, "See? Not everyone here's so typical, right?"

Granberia eventually conceded, and I watched the three girls walk off, talking, though Shinju was definitely dominating the conversation. _Dominant, isn't she? Niiiiice...What? I like what I like._ I hoped that no one could read my mind.

I was about to leave myself when I noticed that Emiko was still seated at her table, as if she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her.

"Emiko? Are you alright?" I hoped I wasn't being too nosey, as I tried to find out what the issue was.

Emiko quickly shook her head and stood up, "Yeah, no, I'm coming. I just...I sort of have a bad feeling, is all. I don't know, it'll probably pass."

"I'll go with you if you want me to," I offered.

Emiko nodded cheerfully, and we both began walking towards the stage, "You know, Nari and I have been friends for years. We've always had that dynamic you saw at the library."

"Really? That sounds nice, a stable friendship. I didn't have too many of those," I admitted, somewhat depressed by the thought. She quickly picked up on this.

"No worries, Shinji-kun. Now that we're here, we'll be able to make friendships that will stand the test of time! We're young, alive, and full of talent and hope for our limitless future opportunities!" She said all this with a dopey smile on her face.

"Ever the optimistic one, aren't we?" I had never been much of an optimist. As a pessimist, you were either always right or pleasantly surprised.

Emiko nodded, "In some ways, I have to be. I might not have made it this far otherwise..." Sensing she was referencing something particularly dark in her past, I changed the subject, and we discussed small talk as we headed to the stage.

When we arrived, we noticed that there was now a podium situated on top of the stage. Before Emiko or I could ask questions, we heard a noise, and suddenly...

Out from the podium came a giant white and black thing, which loudly slammed down on top of the podium. It looked like a small tiger, though its limbs were oddly sized in comparison to its body. More so, it looked shrunken in size, giving it an odd, almost comical look. The left side was black, and it had a large scar-like eye, glowing a deep, sinister red. The right side was completely white, and had normal teeth smiling, contrasting the deadly, sharp, black teeth on the other side.

The creature stopped moving, and Satoshi, taking the lead once more, tried to rationalize, "Wh-what is that? A stuffed tiger!? Where is our headmaster!?"

Nico gulped quite loudly, "I have a really bad feeling about this..."

The tiger-like animal moved, sitting up before standing on its back paws, bent at an awkward angle, "I am no stuffed animal! I am Monotaro, and I am your new headmaster!" The monster, or whatever it was, had a loud, somewhat high pitched voice, though it wasn't anything like the laughter I had heard earlier.

"M-monotaro?" Akihiko was so stunned he could barely utter its name.

"Fuck me..." Nico whispered it under his breath, and though I could barely hear him, I agreed wholeheartedly. This was looking pretty bad.

"Yeeees! And I am your headmaster, here at this humble resort! You eighteen students have been brought here by my dedicated friends over at Hope's Peak. And I have some very important information for you! Ahahahahaha!" He laughed, and his laughter gave me a very bad lump in my throat.

"Important information? Like why we're here? Or whatever the hell...you are!?" Satoshi was beginning to lose himself, and Kibou gripped his arm, to calm him down.

Monotaro jumped down off of the podium, "Why yes, I will. You were brought here to participate in a game, that just so happens to be the favorite of the leader of Ultimate Despair, Miss Junko Enoshima. Though she has passed on, we honor her memory. So since you guys were shipped out to this secret installation by the main school to keep you safe, once Headmaster Kirigiri was dead, we had you all wiped of some of your memories, and placed here to enjoy my little game!"

"Junko Enoshima is the leader of Ultimate Despair!? She's just a Fashionista! What kind of group is this!?" Satoshi exclaimed. He was panicking, and Kenji was tending to Hanako, who had already started hyperventilating.

Monotaro found his confusion amusing, and he laughed even harder than before, sending chills down my spine, "You stupid bastard! Let me give it to you straight!"

Behind Monotaro, a large screen was displayed, like a hologram of some sort, "I know this. The Ultimate Programmer designed this holoscreen recorder a couple of years ago!" Granberia mentioned. For someone so quiet, she had pretty interesting intel.

Monotaro nodded, "Of course! And now, you will see, the things Ultimate Despair has done!"

Pictures flashed across the screen, depicting a horrible series of murders, a killing game that had occurred in Hope's Peak Academy itself. So many young students, ones we knew, whom we recognized, were among the fallen. Sayaka Maizono, Leon Kuwata, Mondo Oowada, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the guy I once used to go to school with, and even Sakura Ohgami, the world's strongest fighter, all killed in some sadistic game.

After the wave of information ended, something else came up, "Greetings. This is your former headmaster, Monokuma speaking!" The bear on screen was small and stocky, and he had the same design as Monotaro did, "My master, Junko Enoshima, has since passed. However, she ensured to have a backup plan for you all! That's right! Junko is dead, and Ultimate Despair was captured and detained on Jabberwock Island! All except for one. And that one is amongst you all!"

"A member of Ultimate Despair!?" Daisuke was unable to contain his fear, "You mean, a crazy psycho!?"

Monokuma faded away, and Monotaro laughed at our expressions, "That's right! The last surviving member of Ultimate Despair is amongst you...I think. Regardless! They are a horrible villain who has committed countless crimes against humanity, including slaughtering their own family, friends, and trapping you all here in my sick little game!"

"So one of us here, in this courtyard, is directly responsible for our suffering?" Yoshikazu was trying to work out the intent behind Monotaro's words.

"Exactly! Thanks to them, you can all participate in the Mutual Killing of Resort Life!" Monotaro threw a box to Yoshikazu, who opened it up, and examined the contents, "Seems to be electronic handbooks for each of my precious students! When you turn it on, it shows your full name, and gives you data on whom you've met and talked to. You can even manage a cute little pet, write down important info, and review your investigation notes which it automatically records for you! It also has a full scale map of the entire resort and the rule book for our trip!"

We each grabbed our own handbook, and upon turning it on, hurriedly made our way to the rules section.

'Rule One: Students are to live indefinitely in this resort, until they are no longer among the living or pass the graduation clause. The one exclusion is End Game.

Rule Two: Night time is designated as the hours between 10 PM and 7 AM. Parts of the resort will be closed down during this time.

Rule Three: No surveillance is done in your personal cottages, provided freely by your generous headmaster! You may sleep elsewhere, but keep anything not safe for work in your rooms, understood?

Rule Four: Those who wish to leave must become the Blackened. In order to do so, you must murder one of your fellow students and get away with it.

Rule Five: In order to get away with it, a class trial will be held after each murder. If the Blackened is found guilty, they alone will be executed.

Rule Six: If the blackened is successful in not getting caught, everyone else will be executed, and the blackened will be free to leave the resort.

Rule Seven: Students are permitted to explore to their own contentment, and no attempts will be made by the headmaster to interfere with your investigation of this resort and its mysteries.

Rule Eight: No destruction of cameras or monitors are permitted. Violence against the Headmaster will also be punished by execution.

Rule Nine: More rules can be added later, in case one of you tries to be a smart ass or pisses the Headmaster off.'

What was I even reading!? Was this even real anymore!?

Monotaro laughed at the gaunt expressions on our faces, "Oh, and by the way, execution means execution! As in, I'll freaking kill you! So if you do murder someone, try not to get caught! Karma's a harsh mistress, after all! I will show up periodically, to inform you of any new developments, or to provide you motives. So remember to get to killing! As much as you want! ...Wait!"

Rule Nine in the handbook changed to Rule Ten, and Rule Nine now read as follows: A single blackened can only kill two people, and a body discovery announcement will be played once a body is discovered by three or more people.

"Now that that is settled, have a nice day, everyone! Make sure to be careful, lest you be murdered! No one wants to be trapped here for all eternity, am I right!?" Monotaro disappeared behind the podium, his sinister laughter echoing across the large courtyard.

We all looked around at each other. Fear, confusion, apprehension, anticipation, anger, all kinds of emotions were plastered all over our faces. This is how we knew we had been thrown into a horrible reality, one we couldn't just pinch ourselves and wake up from.

This was real. And for the first time in my life, I felt fear and despair so overwhelming, I didn't know if I could even speak. But no words would have made this alright, as everyone scattered. Left alone in the courtyard, I could only stand there, in horror and disbelief. Were we really going to do this!?

Were my new friends going to die? No, worse, going to start killing each other!? Why did this have to happen!? No, no, calm down. Nothing bad has happened yet. Maybe it'll be alright, and it's just some big ruse. I knew it was merely wishful thinking, but I had to cling to something or I would lose my mind in this hellish nightmare I had been sentenced to. I had to.


	2. Satoshi's Free Time Events

**_Author's Notes:_**

 ** _I decided to begin posting the free time events to the characters first to better show off some of their finer qualities or personality quirks and backstories. They are all spoiler free and independent of what happens in the main story line, though they may certainly reference plot points in other Free Time Events from other characters. Expect these to be more frequent than the eventual chapters._**

 _ **Free Time Events With Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**_

 **Free Time Event 1#**

I was sitting at a picnic table outside of the small kitchen in the lower courtyard, pondering on who I would spend time with, and what we would do for that period of time. I did not expect for Satoshi to walk over and sit down next to me, a smile and a wave my only indication he was there for me.

"Satoshi? What's up?" I asked, a bit reluctant to talk to him. Satoshi was our self-elected leader, and he was very busy trying to maintain morale and keep up appearances, especially in such a desperate situation.

Satoshi chuckled, and I must have tipped him off, "Relax. I'm not here to scold you, I just wanted to have a small chat."

A chat? "Don't you have a lot of business going on? Not to say I'm trying to push you away, it's just you always seem so swamped with your self-appointed duties."

"It always ends up that way. I was only elected Student Council President by default. No one else wanted the position. The Council was nonexistent except for a hardworking deaf girl, and one that constantly laughed, 'Wahaha'," he talked very casually, "How I came to be. I have decided to try and meet up with all of my constituents and try to spend time with them all."

"You sound like a politician when you talk like that," I pointed out.

He nodded, "That's my eventual aim. Satoshi Hondo, Prime Minister of Japan! Our last one wasn't exactly a good role model, if I had to be perfectly honest."

Truth be told, I didn't even know which former Prime Minister he was badmouthing, but I nodded as if I did know, "Always room for positive growth, right?"

Satoshi beamed, "See, you understand. Being a leader, a politician. In charge. It's hard work, and it's almost always thankless," he sighed, "People imagine you as lazy, wealthy bureaucrats who hate the common people and just don't care. The real tragedy is, a lot of us care, but we don't have the resources to properly show that. Governments aren't charities, and people eventually feel self-entitled."

"So you're talking to everybody to befriend us? Or are you just... Testing how you fare in popularity?" I realized how rude that sounded, "Well, I mean...If we were to have an election, or something."

Satoshi's eyes widened at my suggestion, "An election! Exactly! Nothing is more Democratic or guaranteed to protect rights! If I were elected, not even Takumi or Takeshi could ignore my counseling! Brilliant idea, Shinji. I will get to work immediately!" He ran off before I could utter a word.

Weren't we supposed to be getting to know each other? Well, even with that quick talk, I had learned a bit more about him.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

I was seated in the library, once again trying to decide how to spend my time. I hadn't seen Satoshi in a while, and as I thought of him, he entered the room, a small wooden box in his left arm, and a stack of papers in the right.

"Shinji! There you are!" Satoshi quickly walked over to where I was seated and quickly placed everything on top of the nearby desk, "I took your advice, and I had Yoshikazu craft me a ballot box out of wood. There's a shed, with tools and lumber. Must have been some unfinished construction project. Printed these ballots from the library computers."

"It's nice we have access to modern technology, but without an Internet connection... No music, no getting help, and no games," I said solemnly. Being stuck here was beginning to get mind-numbingly boring.

Satoshi laughed at the gaunt look on my face, "Learn to live a little! Read more!"

"I might. Nico and Kibou started a book club. Though, Kibou is always rushing ahead. Good thing for her retention, though," I noticed that Satoshi cringed when I mentioned her name, "What, don't like her?"

"No, it's just... I'm quite upset that she has also been forced into this horrible scenario. She might be a bit annoying at times, but she really means a lot to me," Satoshi admitted, and he had a sad expression on his face, "Was my first friend, really. Never stood out much when I was young. As average as anyone else. She befriended me before I was the savior of the school."

I shrugged, "Suppose it's better than being alone here, though. I... Unlike the rest of you, I didn't come here with anyone, so I'm feeling the isolation."

Satoshi didn't respond to that, and he instead turned back to his motivation, "So I have asked everyone to place their votes here, starting at 2 PM. I'm obviously not going to vote for myself, so..." Satoshi signed his vote, and placed it into the ballot, "There, done. I'll be leaving now. I'm excited for the results. Just hope I don't have to force anyone to vote..."

"Maybe they'll be cooperative for once..." I tried to sound positive, but he saw through my feeble attempt.

"I'll probably have to ask Yoshikazu to get compliance from the outliers...I dislike such methods, but we really need teamwork and cooperation at a time like this..." Satoshi shook his head and stumbled off.

I quickly signed my own ballot, voting for Satoshi. If he was all for cooperation, I understand. I just hope this vote didn't get out of hand somehow. I left the library, placing my book back on the shelf and signing it out, as specifically instructed in the library rules.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

I was in my cottage when I heard a rapid knock at the door, as if someone was impatient for an answer. Not knowing who it could be, I slowly opened the door.

Satoshi greeted me with a tense stare, "May I come inside?"

I nodded, " Of course, Satoshi. I've been waiting for the results. You won, right? Clean sweep?"

Satoshi didn't respond, and he just brushed past me, almost shoving me, "Ha. Ha. Funny."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"The votes were all wrong, so I assume they were tampered with," He grumbled, "I didn't win. In fact, I was slaughtered. I only received a single vote. I assume it was Kibou..."

I gulped before I spoke up, "Satoshi, I know for a fact I voted for you."

"What...?" Satoshi said, suspiciously glaring at me, "So are you implying Kibou didn't vote for me?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea what her stake is in this. Look, if you really think someone was pranking you, just retake the vote, and be there personally."

Satoshi nodded, "That was my original idea. I have also assigned Yoshikazu to watch it as well. My request is that you don't leave this room until the vote is done."

"Um...okay?" I said, very confused.

Satoshi shook my hand, somewhat forcefully, before rushing out, and I heard him speak to Yoshikazu, "And make sure he doesn't leave. Thanks, Yoshikazu."

"No problem, Master Hondo..." Yoshikazu replied in his calm, stern voice, and I heard Satoshi walk off.

The hell?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get?**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The day after Satoshi took the re-vote, everyone gathered in the cafeteria area, so he would announce the official, live results in front of everyone.

With microphone in hand, Satoshi greeted everyone, "And the votes are in! Time to see who our leader shall be! By popular vote, of course." Satoshi opened the top of the ballot box and set it aside.

Takeshi groaned, "Makin' me vote twice. Fucking bullshit."

Nico nudged him in the chest, "Calm down, it's not like it'll kill you."

Takeshi sighed, and he quieted himself.

Satoshi ignored the exchange as he gleefully pulled the votes out and began reading them aloud. Though I knew he had been slaughtered, I had no idea where the votes had actually been. As he looked them over, I saw his face grow pale, even paler than it had been before.

"H...How...Okay. I don't know how this was tampered with...Fine. Drastic measures. I will have everyone vote here. Live," Satoshi walked over towards Daisuke, "We'll all vote publicly, to see where we stand, since someone here likes to make pranks."

For some odd reason, I felt like he was directing that comment at me.

Satoshi cleared his throat, "I obviously will be honorable. In all honesty, if I didn't win, I would have to vote for...Shinju. She's very personable, and I feel she knows a lot more about everyone here."

Shinju seemed totally unprepared for that, "Oh, really? I don't think so, but thanks...For the thought." She stayed seated, somewhat embarrassed. She was blushing like crazy.

Satoshi handed the microphone over to Daisuke, "Oh, it's my turn? Haha! This will be the last one, right?" Satoshi nodded, "Fine. I'll make it simple: Shinji's been quite kind to us all. He's tried his best to socialize with all of us, and he's even made efforts to feed that adorable kitten we've all adopted. Maybe I'm a little biased, but that's how I cast my vote."

Daisuke handed the microphone to Takeshi, who snatched it away from him, a pissed off look on his face, "Can I vote for myself?"

Satoshi shook his head, "Not in the spirit of the game."

Takeshi groaned, "Well, fuck you then. Shinji. His face pisses me off less." Was that a compliment?

Takeshi basically threw the microphone at Akihiko, who swiftly grabbed a hold on the mike, "Now, there's a few people here qualified, certainly. And some, not so qualified," his eyes locked on Takumi, Takeshi, and Hanako, "For some reason or another. I'll vote Shinju. She's my first friend here after all."

Yoshikazu was keeping score on a small blackboard he had scraped out of the back of the classroom in a bunch of assorted boxes, rolling it out here on its wheels, "Shinji 2. Shinju 2."

Akihiko handed it to Yoshikazu, who quietly marked a vote for none other than Shinju, "She's a level-headed girl. Maybe not the most qualified, but she'd definitely keep morale up."

Yoshikazu handed over the mike to Hanako, who clearly looked uncomfortable even touching it, "Uh...Shinji." She quickly handed it to Emiko and sat down next to Kenji, furiously blushing. Was she...on the verge of tears? Man, she's shy...

Emiko laughed, "Hahaha! Well, normally I'd vote Nari, but she got soooooo mad at me for suggesting that, so I'll vote Shinju," Emiko passed it off to Nari.

Nari rolled her eyes, "I don't really car-...Fine, Shinji." Yoshikazu marked that down. It was four to four. What?

Kibou yoinked the mike from Nari before she knew what had even happened, and she began to excitedly speak, "So I really enjoy the company of everyone here, but I honestly feel like there is one person here more qualified to be Leader than anyone else. I have absolute faith in their ability to lead, based off of everything I've seen firsthand," Satoshi smiled and fixed his collar as she delivered her impassioned speech, "Obviously, I have to hand my vote to Shinju, no contest!"

I quickly noticed Satoshi ceased to function at that point. He seemed to have gone into shock, though I said nothing. Maybe I was just imagining things.

Shinju was given the mike next, "Shinji...He's...Well, whatever!"

Next was Granberia, who, without hesitating, whispered, barely audible, "Shinji..." She looked totally embarrassed voting for me, and I had to admit it was quite cute.

As Nico turned to vote, he shrugged, "Shinju. It's her or Shinji at this point, and I trust her more...No offense, Shinji. You're a bit melancholic at times."

"No, I understand, Nico..." I quickly ensured him there were no hard feelings, "I'm just me. Vote with your heart."

Shizue went up next, and some people finally noticed her new hair style; her pink hair now running free, which she wore quite well. She proudly announced, "Obviously, I'm voting for Shinji! So far, he's been the only person willing to cosplay with me!"

"You cosplayed with her?" Shinju asked, and I knew her curiosity had been piqued. There was no turning back now.

I averted her gaze, "Maybe... I swear, nothing happened! Probably..." I couldn't outright lie to Shinju, but luckily, my comrade-in-arms saved me.

Before Shinju could pursue that trail of knowledge, Kenji went next, "I'm voting for Shinji, obviously. Once Shinju gains power, this will either become a rigid matriarchal society...or a reverse harem. Both options frighten me."

Shinju gave him an angry glare, "What kind of girl do you take me for!?''

"There! Right there! She's a dominatrix undercover! Once she unleashes her true colors, it's the whips for all of us!" Kenji exclaimed, crossing his fingers.

Takumi giggled, "Kinky..."

Kenji smacked Takumi with the microphone before handing it over, "Gross, dude."

Takumi shrugged, "So I'm an important vote here. Shinju, I might be your only hope. Give me a date and I'll vote for ya!"

Shinju rolled her eyes, "You disgust me in a matter of minutes. Some things you don't tell girls unless they ask."

Takumi scratched the nape of his neck, "Can I at least grab your tits?"

A few minutes later, when Takumi could finally pick himself back off of the ground again, he groaned, "Shinju..." before passing out.

"Did he like getting trounced?" Nico was as confused as I was.

Mayu shrugged, not particularly concerned with this vote, "I'd normally choose the most capable person here, but I don't know everyone too well. I do know Shinji, though, so I'll vote for him. He and Shinju have both been quite kind to me."

Yoshikazu marked that down. It was now at 9-7. One more vote my way, and it was game over. The deciding vote was up to Koneko.

Koneko was good friends of both Shinju and I, so I didn't know what to expect. Though, I was honestly hoping for Shinju to get elected, "Well, I'm friends with both of the current runners...However, I'd rather Shinju be our leader. I think she'd be more effective in organizing things."

Koneko handed the microphone to me, and I laughed, "Thanks, Koneko. I kinda don't want to win...If I vote Shinju, we just tie. So instead, I'll vote for someone I think who deserves to win. Someone who works hard at everything they do, who gives it their all. Someone who's the reason we've even gotten this far. I vote for Satoshi, same as my first vote," I noticed Satoshi had gotten out of his stupor, and he was pouting, but my announcement caught him off guard, "I also request to not be given the position. I feel I am unqualified for such an important role in our group, and I would gladly hand this power over to Shinju."

I walked over to Shinju and handed her the microphone, ""I-...I'm honored, but I don't think I'm cut out for it, either. I'm a friendly person, but I know almost nothing about maintaining group morale or planning ahead, or scheduling events like this. So I will also relinquish such responsibility."

Satoshi seemed visibly upset at this point, "Do you think...I need your charity? I wanted a damn fair election, and look how that turned out...I am unwanted for the position."

Shinju walked over and handed him the microphone, "You're the one who brought all of this together."

I added, "You've been leading us and guiding us since day one. Why should that change?"

Satoshi yelled back, "Because no one here likes what I do! Apparently, I'm seen as unfit! My contributions, worthless!" he was getting hysterical, "All I have is leadership qualities! I'm a boring person! A boring, average life! Everything about me is dull! I lost, and all because this is a fucking popularity contest! Bullshit!"

Takeshi started laughing at Satoshi, "Yeah, loser. Of course we think that."

Kibou tried to stop him, "Takeshi, that's not true!"

"No one voted for him 'cept Shinji. Says a lot, doesn't it? No one likes what you do, what you contribute, except mister bleeding heart over there. He probably only voted for you so you didn't cry like a bitch!" Takeshi was ranting, once more. I knew he disliked Satoshi's forceful and commanding nature, but I didn't think he disliked him this much, "Now can I go back to my room in fucking peace? You stupid cunt..." Takeshi stormed off.

As he left, I assumed no one would try to stop him. Almost no one did.

Kibou blocked his path, "Hey, you can't say that about Senpai and walk away like that!"

Takeshi smacked her to the ground, not even hesitating, "Out of my way, you stupid bitch."

That was the end. Satoshi quickly leaped over and decked Takeshi in the nose, sending him flying to the ground. Blood splattered all over, and Satoshi was breathing heavily. He ran over to Kibou and helped her up, "Kibou, are you alright!?"

Kibou nodded, "He didn't even hit me hard...I...Takeshi, why?"

Takeshi chuckled as he got to his feet, wiping the blood out from under his nose, "Satoshi. What you just did. That is what a leader should do. Stop being a total pussy and stand up for yourself more. Then you'll earn the place as leader."

Satoshi was unable to vocalize a response to Takeshi's change in tone, "Did you..."

Takeshi cracked his neck, as if nothing had happened, "Protect the rest of us like you did with Kibou, and you'll do perfectly. Now let me get back to my fucking room in peace..."

Takeshi stormed off, and as Kibou cuddled up to Satoshi, still safely in his arms, Satoshi smiled. For the first time, he genuinely smiled, and I realized that Takeshi may be an unconventional kind of helper, but he could indeed motivate people. Wished he could do it more normally, though.

"All in favor of Satoshi leading us?" Shinju announced, "Say I!"

Everyone in unison, except for Satoshi, said "I!" Unable to take any more, Satoshi broke into tears, and Kibou comforted him in return as everyone else began heading back to their rooms.

Shinju and I both stayed behind, and once everyone else had cleared out, we approached Satoshi, "I don't regret abdicating for a second... Being a leader is a stressful job, but I am certain you're the man for that job, Satoshi. Now if we could only work on your self-esteem."

Satoshi glared at me for a second, though he couldn't hide the smile breaking out on his face, "Damn you. I...I know that outburst was unfair. I...I just... Well, it doesn't matter. The real problem is, I distrusted you. I assumed you were tampering with the votes in favor of you and your girlfriend here, and I didn't even ask for your side of the story."

"Girlfriend?" Shinju and I said in unison, both objecting.

Satoshi conveniently ignored our response, "Shinji, I'm really sorry. I'm not a very understanding leader if I take things out on you, huh?"

I shook my head, "There's always time to make yourself a better man, Satoshi. I expect no less from the future Prime Minister." His eyes went wide in amazement. Did he not expect me to remember his dream?

Satoshi looked Kibou in the eyes, "But Kibou... Why didn't you vote for me?"

Kibou shyly looked away, her cheeks faintly turning red, "Well, when you're the leader, you spend most of your time working and planning. I don't get to spend time with you...I missed you."

Satoshi clearly was expecting some other answer, and he could only blush. Kibou answered his questions without words, kissing him gently.

Satoshi, at first terrified, returned the kiss, and held Kibou close, "Oh, you silly girl...Whatever will I do with you? If you really feel like that...I'll accept your feelings. And since you want more time with me, you shall be my secretary from now on!"

Kibou cheered, "Hooray!"

Satoshi motioned for Shinju and I to come closer, "As thanks, you know, for everything... How about we go on a double date tomorrow night? I'll have Yoshikazu set everything up..."

Shinju waved her hands about, "B-b-b-but! T-this is so sudden! Shinji, say something!"

I turned to Shinju and bowed, offering her my hand, "I would be honored if you would be my date."

She gasped in surprise, though she tried to quickly disguise it, "Er, uh...It would be rude to refuse after Satoshi so kindly offered...So f-fine! But it doesn't mean we're dating!"

I couldn't help but laugh, "You're so scared to call me a boyfriend, but not to-" she hit me in the gut, cutting me off, "Okay, okay! See you tomorrow night, Satosh...ow!" I fell to the dirt, clutching my now pained stomach.

Kibou, Satoshi, and Shinju all laughed at my misfortune, but they all looked genuinely happy about our plans... _Holy shit! A date!? What!? What did I agree to!? Crrrrrrap!_

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

The next night, I found myself sitting with Shinju down by the cafeteria, awaiting the arrival of our friends, Satoshi and Kibou.

"I can't believe we agreed to this..." Shinju said. I admired her tenacity, as she was now wearing a tightly fitting black dress, and her red lipstick made her look so cute yet seductive. I was sitting in my fanciest dress shirt, a nice white cotton one. Yoshikazu had been kind enough to lend me a rose. We had discovered a super market off to the side of the classroom, through a small pathway that wound towards the nearby beach, where we could find any and all amenities we needed.

I turned around, back against the side of the table, crossing my legs and taking a candy stick out of my pocket, gripping it like one might a cigarette, before biting it in half and chewing it, "Come off it. Satoshi's really into this. We have to make sure his date with Kibou goes well. She's loved him for a long time, and we're going to make things go smoothly," I looked her over once more, "Besides, you look great. A regular bishoujo, you are."

Shinju's cheeks turned a shade of red, and I began considering making a tally every time her face flushed with embarrassment, "Well, someone has to be. You're certainly no bishonen, yourself."

I nodded, "I never said I was. I know my limits."

At that point, Satoshi and Kibou finally came out of their cottages, and as they met and exchanged awkward greetings, they linked arms together and walked over, in the image of a truly loving couple.

"It's like you guys were born for each other. Destiny," I chuckled.

Shinju joined in on my jeering, "With how much Kibou cares for you, she might work so hard to become the Ultimate Student Council Secretary, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes, I certainly could see that," I nodded, fixing my collar.

Satoshi flicked me in the forehead, "Quiet, you rapscallion!"

Kibou and Satoshi both took their seats, and as we faced each other, Yoshikazu came out, bearing dinner platters. Placing them, he melodramatically lifted the lids, shocking us with what must have been a five-star three course meal, "Only the best for my best friends, Master Hondo and Master Kizami," As he turned to leave, he hesitated.

"Something wrong?" Satoshi didn't look too concerned, but he asked out of courtesy.

Yoshikazu looked back at us, "Do your best to impress the ladies. Takumi said a successful date would allow you both a 'booty call'." Yoshikazu then walked off, not even realizing how terribly embarrassing what he just said was, or how uncomfortable it made most of our group.

I decided to interrupt the silence building around us, "Satoshi, I have to ask. Why were you so concerned over vote tampering?"

Satoshi didn't expect me to address such a topic, so he hesitated, "Well...Uh. If I'm being honest, I didn't tell you the whole story before."

"The whole story?" Shinju asked what we were discussing as we began filling all of our own plates.

Satoshi sighed, "Well, I told Shinji about how boring I was before I became a Student Council President. That I was elected by default since no one ran against me. Truth is, I hadn't run myself."

"What?" He didn't run? So why did he win?

"Someone put my name on the ballot without my knowledge, and next thing I knew, I had a bunch of new responsibilities. Never knew who did it or why, but..." Satoshi sighed, "My entire career up to now wouldn't have happened if not for that fortunate prank. When I became President though, it only got worse."

"Worse...?" Kibou was looking very concerned, and I noticed she had been fidgeting during this entire story.

Satoshi wiped his mouth clean before elaborating, "Fake events. Pushing work off on the Council. Arranging fake meetings. It took a toll on me. I mean, I have arrhythmia."

"What's that?" Kibou was confused.

I was going to answer, but Shinju beat me to the punchline, "Arrhythmia is basically irregular beating of the heart. Too fast or too slow, and there's supposedly a lot of ways to get it. Most cases are benign, but if Satoshi's case was significant enough to harm him, he likely would have to take an unhealthy amount of medications to regulate it."

To prove this, Satoshi pulled out a small bottle, "Morning, noon, and night. I have Yoshikazu grind them into my food. The rest I take before my morning shower and right before bed, and can't be ground up. Seven different medications in total."

"That must be taxing... I have to take three medications daily, but luckily only once in the morning," I admitted.

"You take pills too? For what?" Kibou asked, somewhat curious.

I waved my hand, "Nothing dangerous. I could live without 'em. Luckily, we have the pharmacy so I don't have to. One is for allergies, though I can't determine what. Might be cats. One, I take for ADHD. Without that, I revert to being pretty forgetful, and I become pretty tangential when I speak. As in, I constantly go off topic. I also might take a sleeping pill before bed, and as for the third pill..."

I trailed off, and Shinju pushed further, "So if you wouldn't die... Another psychological thing?"

Damn, she was intuitive. There was no reason for me to hide the truth, anyways, "Clinical depression."

"Depression!?" Kibou seemed the most surprised, "But you always seem so upbeat!"

"What Nico said when he voted...How you're melancholic at times. Is that why?" Satoshi pointed out.

"Ah, you remembered. Looks like we've become good friends if you noticed that tiny detail," I tried to joke around, but they all gave me serious looks, "Look, it's a long story as to why I take them. Like I said before, I could in theory do without them. I just like to play it safe."

Shinju placed her hand on my shoulder, "Shinji..."

I patted her on her head and laughed, "What, you concerned? Where'd my Sassy Beast go?"

"Don't call me that!" Shinju pouted, giving me an angry puffy face.

Satoshi chuckled, and we continued this back and forth, discussing smaller topics, like who was obeying the rules, or what embarrassing situations we had gotten ourselves into. What I noticed in particular was that Satoshi seemed happier now than I had ever seen him, with Kibou clinging to him and enjoying dinner with friends.

Then what Yoshikazu said earlier came back around.

We had about finished the meal by then, and Satoshi was directing us to clean up after ourselves so Yoshikazu could go to bed without extra work, as a way to thank him for his kindness. Before we finished, Kibou clung to Satoshi and asked him, "Satoshi, what is a 'booty call'?"

Satoshi's face turned a shade of red, and even Shinju couldn't help laughing with me at his awkward position, "Oh god! Satoshi, just be honest!" I could barely stand up properly with how hard I was laughing.

Kibou poked Satoshi in his chest a couple of times, "So? Satoshi? What is it? Something bad? Good? With Takumi, it's hard to tell."

Satoshi loudly cleared his throat, "Well, er. To put it into its simplest form, he was implying that we would... Spend the night together."

Kibou seemed confused, "So, like, a sleepover?"

Satoshi cringed as he was forced to go into detail, "No, like, I mean... As lovers."

Kibou finally understood the implications in what Takumi had said, and she giggled, "Oh, is that it?"

"Bhwaaaaaa!?" Satoshi let out an odd noise, the kind that were hard to read aloud if put into a story without laughing at how ridiculous it was.

Kibou was blushing like crazy, but she persevered the embarrassment, "Satoshi... To be honest, I've been in love with you for a long time. And now that we're trapped here, we might not both get out..."

Satoshi shook his head, "I will lead us all out of here safely, I assure you."

She sighed, "You don't know that. If someone else is planning... You know, murder... You might not be able to stop them. I know I need to be positive, but I'm trying to be honest here, Satoshi. As long as Monotaro is around, we're in danger. And I don't wanna die with any regrets," She placed her hand on her heart and one on Satoshi's, "I love you, and I... I want to express that to you. You've accepted my feelings, and my heart. Will you accept the rest of me as well?"

Shinju and I both went completely silent. Kibou had come to me for advice on how to win her Senpai over, and I had counseled her to be honest and follow her heart. If Satoshi was the person she loved, he would understand her feelings. How he would respond to this, I had no idea.

After a long moment of silence, Satoshi nodded, "You waited a long time to confess to me, and I was too thick-headed to realize how you felt. Now, we're here, in a killing game where either of us might be taken at any time. It would be a waste not to spend the night, wouldn't it?"

Kibou's eyes shined, and she jumped onto Satoshi, who lifted her up, carrying her bridal style, "Then it's settled! Away, my sweet Prince!"

Satoshi walked past Shinju and I, "Thank you both... For everything. I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to get us all out of here. That's the least I can do to repay you." Satoshi walked off, carrying the excited Kibou all the way back to his cottage.

I laughed, "Well, it's funny. I guess I'm a wing man for both of them, now."

Shinju nudged me in the side, "Did you have a hand in this?"

Giving her a mischievous smile, I nonchalantly shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe I did," Feeling her glaring at me, I caved, "Alright. Kibou asked me for advice with her Senpai, and I told her to be honest with herself, alright. What she did here was following that advice, but I didn't tell her to do that! So stop giving me that mean look, or I'll flee from battle regardless."

Shinju didn't respond for a moment, contemplating how to respond, "You're a really nice guy, you know that?"

She rarely ever seriously complimented me, and as I blushed, I decided to make a joke to deflect this elsewhere, "So, is it time for our booty call?"

Shinju slapped me, not hard, but still enough to sting, "You know how to kill the mood, don't you?"

The two of us laughed it off, before eventually heading back to my cottage to kill time for a little while more. I knew that no matter what, Satoshi would try to uphold his promise to me. We had a true bond now, and I would do my best not to let him down.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Envious Influence". With your new found friendship with the group's self-appointed leader, your influence gauge is significantly increased during trials.**

 **You have been awarded Satoshi's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	3. Daisuke's Free Time Events

**Author's Note: More free time events, this time a bromance! The cast list is now up for ease of access. I must note that multiple FTE events may reference other ones that have already occurred, and even some that have yet to be posted. The idea is that Shinji spent time with people randomly, more so than finishing off a single character in a row.**

 _ **Free Time Events with Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

After having discovered the location of the supermarket, I made my way down to it, walking around the curves towards the beachside area. The supermarket had a small trail curving off around it that lead to the beach, but there was no way we could swim out of here. Even if there was an island nearby, escaping by swimming wasn't an option for me, considering I couldn't swim.

When I opened the doorway, the top of the glass door hit the bell, making it ring and calling anyone in the store to my arrival. I thought I would be alone, considering it was early in the morning, at about 6:30. I had had trouble sleeping, so I decided to find myself something to drink with my sleeping medication. Using just water made me so sick I couldn't swallow the pills. And when I last asked for suggestions, Takumi laughed at how I "swallow".

I must have looked exhausted, but I hadn't yet run into anyone, so I had luck on my side. Or at least, I thought I did.

Daisuke was looking for something in the market, and upon hearing the noise, was peeking around the corner, "Shinji? What're you doing up this early? You usually don't leave your room until noon."

I decided to be honest, "I have insomnia problems. Sometimes, it's alright, but there are times when I have to take sleeping meds. Can't take them with simple water, though, so I came down to the market for some drinks. Soft drinks, juice, whatever has flavor to it."

Daisuke laughed, "Wow, you're more complex than I thought, huh? Good thing we have this market, then."

"Even better that Monotaro regularly restocks it. Such a kind gesture from such a sick... bastard," I was reluctant to insult him considering he could hear our every word with those skillfully placed cameras.

Daisuke shrugged it off, "No one's gonna take him seriously, so it's all good. And even if they did? Well, I won't allow for there to be murders. It's not an issue."

I was surprised he felt strongly about this, "You say that like you mean it."

"I do. I can't tolerate such trash bastards committing murder. I may seem like a bit of an airhead at times, but I can be serious, too." Daisuke admitted that he was at the very least self-aware of his reputation, "It may surprise you that I'm more than a pretty face..."

I opted not to comment on that, "Well, duh. You're an Ultimate, and more than that, you're pretty sharp. I still remember what you first said when we met. The pressures of having talent like this, and how I might be lucky. Really made me feel better."

Daisuke shifted his gaze from me, "Oh, you remembered that?" he was blushing, and I had to admit, it was cute of him to be so embarrassed over something like that, "I was just bein' honest. My sister, she was an Ultimate, too. And it was hard to be one." He stopped talking for a moment, and his smile momentarily vanished, "I got what I came for. Talk to you later."

Daisuke walked past me, and I bid him farewell. He must really love his sister, huh?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

Daisuke had asked for Yoshikazu and I to join him on a small trip. We were now doing laps on the beach. Yoshikazu and Daisuke were both far ahead of me, and as the heat bore down, I wondered if 'I'd rather die' would become more than just figurative language to me through all of this training.

Eventually, my merciful savior Daisuke suggested we all relax after a hard exercise, and so we found ourselves sitting under the shade of a small oak tree, planted in the small grassy patches near the rock wall built to incline the area away from the beach.

Daisuke tossed me a small can of juice, which I quickly gulped down, "God...For the love of...all that is...holy...Can we never work that hard again?" I barely managed to choke out as exhaustion set in. My body felt like it weighed a million pounds.

Daisuke laughed especially hard at this, "Ahaha! I told you, it would do you good! Soon, this'll be nothing to you! I'm surprised Yoshikazu managed to keep up with me."

Yoshikazu nodded, "I have done strenuous tasks before. A mere run like that is child's play," Despite saying that, he was breathing heavy too, and he was drinking through an entire six pack of water bottles.

Daisuke sat back, reclining as he looked out over the beautiful beach. Seagulls dipped, ducked, and dived into the ocean, hunting for fish and anything else they might be able to snatch out of the water, "Sure is a beautiful day, I have to admit."

Yoshikazu nodded, "Yes, I often go down to the beach myself, so it's nice to see some normality in our lives."

"Well, you're always busy working for someone or another," Daisuke replied somewhat sternly, "If you would just make time for yourself... But I understand. Your talent and your heritage mean a lot to you. I get that."

Yoshikazu wasn't prepared for Daisuke to say that, and I could notice he was slightly blushing at that remark, "Oh, I...I see. I'm surprised that you care. Most of the others here are perfectly fine with me being the loyal and trusty ally they need. Only Satoshi and Shinji ever request of me to take time off, it seems."

Daisuke turned to me, "Really? Why's that?"

I shrugged, "Well, I dislike it when my friends use every last ounce of their time for work. Yoshikazu's very kind and courteous, and some people here might forget he has limits. He's only human, you know?" I added, "Not to say anyone would outright use Yoshikazu, but small things add up."

Yoshikazu sighed, "It is indeed true that I am requested by others to help them in their endeavors far more than my last locale ever did. I am certain it is more just the sheer amount of people than their lack of caring for my well being."

Daisuke chuckled at his response, "Wow, Yoshikazu. That's insightful of you," He thought for a moment, "Then my only request to you is to join up with Shinji and I and relax every once in a while. Kick back and have fun. You know what they say about all work and no play. I've seen what being overworked can do to someone, and I..."

As he trailed off, Yoshikazu agreed, "Fine, fine. Don't make that face, Master Ichijou. It is not befitting of someone so valuable to our group."

Daisuke blushed at this compliment, and the heavy mood that had clouded over our sunny day faded away. I didn't know what Daisuke was referring to, but I knew it was his business, and I was not one to pry unless I absolutely had to.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Opting not to work out this time, I managed to convince Daisuke to come with me to the lounge instead. Making him his black coffee as he requested, I also made myself a simple milkshake, knowing the chocolate ones made from the cafe there were notoriously thick. Finishing our drinks, I brought them to our table and sat them down.

Seating myself, I noticed Daisuke was out of it, "Daisuke? Something wrong?"

Daisuke quickly came back to reality, and he laughed, "Oh, sorry. I was spacing out again. It's no big deal!" He grabbed his black coffee and drank it, but shouted as it burnt his tongue and fell into his lap, causing him to jump around in pain, clutching his injured groin.

I quickly hurried to get him a small towel left here by Yoshikazu for emergencies and quickly threw one to him. He quickly rubbed himself down, "No big deal, hm?"

As he finished cleaning himself, he tossed me the towel, and I put it in the small hamper here. Yoshikazu would come by to dump them into the laundry machines later. Thanks to Satoshi's planning, we had minimized work for Yoshikazu and maximized ease of access for any service we needed Yoshikazu's assistance with, "At least we can work together as a group..."

"Can we...?" Daisuke spoke softly, but I heard him quite clearly.

"Having doubts?" I quickly poured him a second cup, though I placed it further away from him and reminded him it was going to be hot.

Daisuke rolled his eyes, "I don't make the same mistake twice."

I decided to address what he said earlier, "Can we, is that right? Daisuke, you've been spacing out a lot when we talk. I don't mean to pry, but you seem really out of it. If there's anything on your mind, you know you can talk with us, right?"

"Yeah, right," Daisuke quickly countered me, a regretful frown plastered on his face, "My sis said that once, too. She was the smart one of us, you know? Was the Ultimate Reporter. She was quick-witted, kind, and most importantly, she treated everyone she liked as family."

I was surprised that he actually disclosed any information about his mysterious sister, "You almost never talk about her. If it's a touchy subject-"

Daisuke waved his hand, "Yeah, yeah. Shut it and let me talk," Daisuke was uncharacteristically serious, but he didn't mean to sound rude, either, "Severa Ichijou. She was brilliant, bright, cheerful. She was easily embarrassed, and rarely showed how much she loved her family when she was in public. She worked for the school paper, and she proved to be an adept reporter. When she got invited to go to the Academy of Hope's Peak, of course she accepted without hesitation."

As he reminisced, I wondered what kind of girl she actually was, but I assumed I might never get to find out, "She sounds amazing, Daisuke. I'm an only child, so I wouldn't know what it would be like to have a sister, but..."

"Sounded. Past tense..." The life in his eyes faded away. After a brief silence, he continued, "Lots of expectations got put on her. She was forced to follow sports teams, politicians, businessmen, and others. The school made her one of their most decorated representatives. I noticed how tired she was becoming, so I took to cheerleading to give her support from the sidelines. Back in eighth grade..."

"You weren't made fun of?" I was curious.

"Oh, relentlessly. But I couldn't be bothered to give a fuck," Daisuke rarely cursed, so that shocked me, "Anyone that bullied me over it either got a black eye or learned to do it when I wasn't around. I didn't care; I was making my sister happy, and that was all that mattered to me."

I nodded, "You knew what was important to you, and you went for it all the way. That's my way to live. If I only had the strength to do that..."

Taking a sip of his now cooled down coffee, he cleared his throat once more, "The stress got to her, though. Eventually, she asked to be assigned abroad to get away from it all. So they assigned her to speak with some bigwig businessman in Towa City," he stopped for a moment, "Tokuichi Towa, his name was. The entire damn city went offline recently. The Towa Conglomerate is likely behind it. Since then, I haven't heard anything about my sister. She's likely..."

"Well, you don't know that," I tried to reassure him, but to no avail.

Daisuke was nearly in tears recalling such a painful event, "Rumors leaked about a group... Ultimate Despair or some such garbage. Said they had a unit, a task force or some shit in Towa City. May have been the igniting event in the city's downfall. I got the news just after I boarded the train to Hope's Peak. I only agreed to come to this damn school to reunite with Sis, and now..."

Daisuke finished his coffee and slammed his fist onto the table in anger, "Look where that got me!" he stood up, angry, "Fuck! Now I'm stuck here in this nightmare bullshit game! My sister is AWOL, Ultimate Despair is fucking with the Academy, and I'm powerless to do anything!"

"Daisuke, look, it's alright! We'll get out of here!" I tried to calm him down, never having seen him snap like this.

Daisuke screamed, "How do you know!?" he was breathing heavy at this point, "We're...We're stuck in this place, and we're powerless to stop a stuffed animal from making us his toys! I won't let him make a mockery of Daisuke Ichijou! I will find the bastard running this game, and the member of Ultimate Despair amongst us, and I will kill them with my bare hands!"

Knowing the risk, I slapped Daisuke. He clearly was not expecting that, so he didn't retaliate, "Calm down, Daisuke! Getting angry won't help you find her!"

Daisuke rubbed his cheek, "You just hit me...?"

"If you freak out, you'll play right into Monotaro's hands! He wants us to panic! He wants us to suspect each other! You have to keep your cool!" I was done playing neutral, "We have no proof any of us is Ultimate Despair, and I'm not going on a witch hunt against my friends!"

"You consider me a friend, huh?" He said this in an almost menacing tone.

I ignored the bad feeling in my gut, "Of course I am, dumb ass! So calm the calamity that is your mammaries!"

Daisuke's hand balled into a fist, "I have a demand of you. If you really want to prove to me that you're my friend, then I have a challenge to test your resolve."

"A test of resolve?" I gulped, "More beach endurance training?"

Daisuke laughed, sinisterly, "Nothing so trivial. The only way to prove if you're really a man of your word! Meet me tomorrow night, at the bath house! Nine PM sharp! If you don't make it, you forfeit!"

Daisuke stomped out, still somewhat upset.

I was worried. I was worried about Daisuke, about his challenge, about our future here, our friendship. But most importantly, I was worried he might have been right. That we were powerless, and that there was a traitor amongst us. I wanted to deny that with all my might, but I could not prove it was a lie. No matter what I believed or what I wanted to be true, I didn't know the truth, and that was a weakness we all had.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The next night, I had prepared myself for whatever horrible competition Daisuke would challenge me to. No matter what happened, I intended to prove to him my resolve, and he would accept me as his friend.

Daisuke, who was wearing nothing but a towel when I arrived, greeted me with a smile, "'Sup, new meat! Are you ready for the wildest adventure of your life!?"

"What exactly are we doing?" My voice cracked a bit, and I cursed under my breath.

Daisuke laughed at my indecision, "You'll find out. Get undressed, get a towel. Hurry up, maggot!"

Soon I found myself seated next to Daisuke in the sauna at the back of the bath house next to the locker rooms, "Oh, god... I hate the heat..." I was sweating profusely, literally coated from head to toe.

Daisuke laughed, "Don't move too much. Your sweat gives you like, a force field. Move too much, the hot air will burn your skin like hell!" He was joking around in this intense heat, and he didn't even seem fazed.

"Why must we...battle...like this...?" I breathed out, already getting slightly woozy.

"True men battle it out like this, fool!" he shouted at me, as if it was obvious, "It's the Man's Way!"

"Whatever you...say." I sputtered.

After a few more minutes had passed, Daisuke decided to tease me, "I go in these for fun, you know. You don't stand a chance, and you look pale as hell. Just give up, man."

I shook my head and yelped as my neck got seriously burned by the hot air, "Not a chance...in hell. I...refuse...to lose...to someone...when my...friendship's on the...line."

Daisuke laughed, "Persistent, hm? You'll give it up soon."

He said that, but an hour later, we were still seated in the bath house. Daisuke was also sweating pretty badly at this point, "Okay...I can...feel...it now."

I could barely talk at this point. My mouth was terribly parched, and I couldn't see anymore, due to the sweat dropping down my hair into my eyes almost constantly. I had never hated a life choice I had made so much until now.

"Are you...alright?" As Daisuke asked this, I collapsed to the floor of the sauna. My consciousness was fading, and I could barely think at this point.

Daisuke noticed something was wrong, "Shinji? Shinji!?" He quickly stood up, and ignoring the burns, ran to open the door up. He quickly opened it and rushed out to try and find himself something to help get me.

He returned, towel in hand, to see me standing at the entrance to the sauna, a smile on my face, "I...win."

As I passed out to the floor, Daisuke ran to my side.

I woke up sitting on a cold bench just outside of the sauna, where Daisuke, who noticed I had awoken, greeted me with a smack upside my head, "You damned idiot!"

I noticed Shinju was here as well, and I assumed that Daisuke had called her over, "You know you can't handle heat! Why'd you go and agree to that sauna battle!?"

She proceeded to smack Daisuke on the back of his head, "And you! What the hell were you thinking!?"

Daisuke cringed, "We were battling! He wanted to prove his friendship to me, and I figured he'd pussy out!"

Shinju sighed, "If Shinji has any positive trait, it's his persistence to make others happy at his own expense. Probably his only positive trait, if he's acting this stupid."

I quickly retaliated with words, "You don't get it, ya Sassy Beast! He insulted my honor! He trusts you and Yoshikazu without sauna battles! I get this treatment... Of course I agreed to it! I didn't come to Hope's Peak to get rich or look cool or because I admired the damn place. I came to make friends!"

"That was your motivation?" Daisuke asked.

"Why else!? I'm a Romantic! That's a crap talent, perfect for a loser like me! Only reason I won this manly battle was by passing out! Daisuke went to go get help! I...I'm going to bed," I quickly tried to walk out, but Shinju reached out to stop me. Instead, she ripped the towel off of my body.

As I turned to tell her off for trying to stop me, I noticed what she had done, "Shinju?" Daisuke said, not averting his gaze, though he was blushing.

Shinju looked down and let out a scream, and quickly threw a right hook my way, knocking me flat, "Oh, shit!"

Back at the courtyard heading towards my cottage, I was now dressed and being carried on either side by Daisuke and Shinju, "I can walk now, you know."

"No!" They both refused my request.

"You don't have to carry me all the way..." I complained.

"Yes, we do!" They once again replied in unison, which I found amusing.

Shinju turned to Daisuke, "You never told us why you challenged him to a sauna battle of all things. Why him?"

Daisuke avoided her gaze, "I've got my reasons. I promise, I won't do it again. Don't want to put my bro in danger again."

Did I hear that right? "Bro...?"

Daisuke glanced at me before blushing again, "Well, you were talking 'bout how you were an only child, so I figured, if you won, I'd adopt you into my own family. Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean."

"So I'm your Kyoudai now, huh?" I joked at his expense, and this only embarrassed him further.

Daisuke moved his arm and I almost fell forward, "I will drop you."

"Bro, please, no!" I said, laughing, and Daisuke actually let go.

Before I hit the ground, he grabbed me by the collar and helped me back up, "I kid, I kid. Press your luck, though, and you might wake up with a bucket over your cottage door. Drenched in mayo."

I noticed Shinju was smiling as she looked at the two of us, but I neglected to comment.

Daisuke stopped escorting me once we got to my cottage, and Shinju opened my door for us and forced me inside, following so she could give me an earful herself.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

"Bro!" I waved to Daisuke, who was eating some steak at the outdoor cafeteria.

Daisuke smiled as he saw me, "Dude, hurry the hell up! Yoshikazu slaved over a hot stove for us, and I don't want my bro to disrespect his kindness!" I walked up and we shared a high five, a low five, and a fist bump in that order.

I pounded my fist against my chest, "Yeah, right, bro. Like I'd diss Broshikazu like that!"

Yoshikazu walked over to us, handing me a plate and the lunch he had prepared, "Broshikazu?"

"What, don't like?" I asked, "I could call you Yoshi-Kyoudai instead?"

Yoshikazu scratched behind his ear, "Either would work, Master Kizami."

Daisuke laughed, "Don't worry, Broshikazu. We're not mocking you or nothing. We have you to thank for us being so close, you know? If you hadn't told me about that whole battle in the sauna ritual, we'd never have been reforged in the fires of kinship!"

"A double negative..." He tried to point out, but Daisuke dismissed it.

"Anyways, I'll see you later, Broshikazu. Shin-bro, when you can, meet me by the pier. Got something I wanted to tell ya," Daisuke fist bumped me once more before running off.

"What happened between them?" Nico asked, slightly weirded out.

Takeshi snorted, "Sorry, out of fucks to give," He stood up and walked away.

Shinju chuckled, "They got all hot and bothered in the sauna, if you really want to know."

I glared at Shinju, "Why you gotta say it like that? We were just having a battle of endurance in a sauna. There's nothing weird about it!"

"Yes, a battle of endurance in a hot room wearing nothing but soft towels and two dudes with no one else around is totally not suspicious or anything," Shinju was joking at my expense, and I didn't mind. I would not, however, let her insult Daisuke along with that.

Getting ready to move as quickly as I could, I locked eyes with her and responded, "You're just mad he lasts longer than you did in our last battle, huh? Then again, you battle like an animal, so who are you to judge?"

Shinju's eyes went wide, and as she stood up, probably to beat my ass, I fled in the direction Daisuke went as fast as possible.

"You son of a bitch!" I heard her shout after me, but I was already long gone.

Smirking to myself and proud of my glorious victory that I knew I would never regret, I walked down the path, jogging after every turn so as to gain as much distance as possible, in case she did follow. Past the supermarket, down to the beach, I noticed Daisuke standing on the edge of the pier, looking out over the horizon.

He didn't move until I was only a few feet away, "I've been thinking, Shinji. About what you said. Why I challenged you and not Kaz or Shinju."

I remembered what I had shouted at him, "No need to worry about that, Daisuke. I was just angry."

Daisuke shook his head, "I'm telling you either way, so appreciate my kindness!" I nodded, and he continued, "Like I told you, Shinju reminds me of my sister. So befriending her is natural as all hell. As for Kaz, I may or may not feel differently towards him than I do for you."

"What, you like him?" I joked, but upon seeing his response to my joke, I added, "Wow, really? I mean, that's nice. Does he know?"

Daisuke shook his head, "Not yet, I'm afraid to tell him something like that. I'll probably get shot down. Even if he could like me that way, it'd take time away from his craft, you know?"

I didn't respond quickly, "Well, you never know. Maybe he will. Wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

"You have a point. I guess... Maybe after we get out of here, I'll tell him. But for now, we need to work together to get out of here," Daisuke and I clasped each other's hands and shook hard, both tightening our grip in another battle between brothers.

Before he let go, he looked me in the eyes, very seriously, "But I need you to understand one thing, my bro. If your dumb ass is too stupid to have noticed, Shinju likes you. And if you make her cry, if you break her heart, I'm obligated to kick your ass. Understood?"

He said this with a smile on his face, but he totally meant it! "Y-yeah, I understand!"

Daisuke grinned like an idiot, "Good, we understand each other."

I decided to ask Daisuke for advice while we were confessing, "Daisuke, I have to ask you about something. I need advice. See, I was cosplaying with Shizue, you know? She was nagging me to do it, and I finally caved in and joined her, right?"

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah? What of it?"

"Well, you know how she gets totally into character while she does it?" Daisuke nodded, "Turns out she had... Feelings for me. So when we both got dressed up, she kind of forced herself onto me, and I... Daisuke?" I stopped my story as I noticed Daisuke had been stricken with fear, "What's wrong?"

I felt an evil presence behind me, and it was too late to escape, "First you publicly humiliate me, and now you're telling me you and Shizue have been getting naughty without either of you telling me!?" I did a quick 180 and saw Shinju, fists at the ready. Instant regret of my glorious victory from earlier achieved. Talk about a Pyrrhic victory.

I screamed in fear, "No, wait! I can explain!"

Shinju's fist came so fast, I barely dodged in time. Daisuke was thus slugged into the water, not that he seemed surprised, "Damnit, bro!"

I cringed, "Shinju, please! You know I can't swim! I promise, I can explain what happened, okay!? If you wanna kill me, do it on dry land, please!?" Shinju halted her assault for a second, but she then smacked me in the face, so hard that the smack could be heard by anyone in the nearby area. I noticed some of the others had followed Shinju to enjoy this confrontation, and they had probably heard Shinju scream about what I was guilty of. I assumed since Nico's eyes had gone wide in surprise, and Shizue was curling up into a ball to avoid the others' gazes.

Shinju sighed, "You...Baka! Baka baka baka!" Shinju pushed me into the water, and I screamed in fear.

"But I... Save me!" I screamed before I floundered into the water, sinking like a rock.

"Broooo!" Daisuke shouted before diving underwater to save me.

Eventually, I found myself sitting next to Daisuke on the beach, soaked and exhausted. Shinju came over, having sent everyone else off, "Shinji, I... I may have overreacted a little."

Daisuke put his arm around me, "Bro here will talk to you later, Sis. He's having like, flashbacks or some shit. Not the first time someone forced him into the water."

Shinju got to her knees, "Shinji, I didn't know... I just... I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

Instead of saying anything, I surprised her with a kiss, bringing her face close to mine as I locked lips with her. She didn't push me away, just giving me a dazed look. I pulled away and gave her a smug grin, "Does that answer your query?"

Shinju rolled her eyes, "Nerd!" she ruffled my hair, "Want to get some ice cream from the market?"

I laughed, "Rocky road, right? Daisuke, what do you want?"

Daisuke was a bit surprised by the turn of events, "Cotton Candy, I guess."

I nodded and hurried along.

 _ **Shinju's POV**_

As that silly boy ran to get us our ice cream, Daisuke stood up, and I decided I also had to apologize to him, "Sorry for hitting you, Daisuke. I didn't mean to."

Daisuke waved his hand, "Don't worry, Sis. I won't hold it against you."

"Why are you calling me Sis?" I really was curious.

He blushed before he responded, "Well, you remind me of my sister. I haven't seen her in a long time. So if you don't mind, that'll probably be what I nick you. Seems fitting. Shinji, Shinju. Bro and Sis."

I chuckled, "Fine, I'll be your Imouto for now. Just don't make it weird." We shook hands on our new friendship, and we hugged, the first time since we arrived here.

 _ **Shinji's POV**_

I returned, and upon noticing Daisuke and Shinju hugging, smiled a bit wider, "Shinju, hold this for a sec!" I handed her Daisuke's cone and her cone, and, gripping mine tightly, grabbed Daisuke by his collar and whispered, "And just so you know, if you ever hurt Shinju yourself I'll put the Die in Daisuke, understand?"

Daisuke laughed, "Yeah, yeah. Bro, I promise."

We shook on our second promise, and I knew we would keep them. It was a man's promise, after all!

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Second Wind". Thanks to your new bro's constant support, you can restart a trial once with half health if you fail midway through.**

 **You have been awarded Daisuke's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	4. Yoshikazu's Free Time Events

_**Free Time Events with Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

It was rare of Yoshikazu to ever take breaks, but it was a cool evening when I finally managed to catch him on one, "Yoshikazu, are you on break?"

Yoshikazu turned to see me, seated in the lounge chair quietly sipping some royal milk tea, "Oh, Master Kizami. If you need anything, I will get it momentarily."

I sat down next to him, grabbing myself a grape soft drink off of the small fridge on the nearby counter, "Don't bother with that. I wanted to talk to you while you were off work anyways."

He was clearly confused by this, "I am a mere butler, though. What use is it talking to the help?"

"Oh, don't give me that shit. We're friends here. Equals. You have no obligation to serve us, so cut that out," I came off a bit strong, but I wasn't trying to disrespect his lifestyle, "I know you have your proud heritage, so I won't tell you not to attend to our needs. I just want you to understand we want more than a strictly business relationship."

Yoshikazu quietly sipped his tea, uncertain of what I was implying, "I assure you, Master Kizami, I am not a very interesting person to be around. Due to how little time I have devoted to hobbies or more frivolous activities, I have very little to talk about aside from my experiences."

"Then tell me how you started out as a butler. I imagine the young you made a lot of mistakes, right?" I chuckled, and Yoshikazu looked embarrassed.

"Certainly. My father began training me at the age of five, and I was quite inadequate as a child. Only through my diligence and my father's guiding hand did I ever make something of myself," Yoshikazu spoke fondly of his childhood memories, "It was harsh training, and the work was excruciatingly difficult at times."

I noticed he only mentioned his dad, but I didn't press that issue for now, "Do you enjoy being a butler? Or is it just work to you?"

Yoshikazu struggled to answer that, "I was raised very carefully. I was constantly told I would be the world's greatest butler, and I never had time for friends or social events. Everything was alright, until my father died. Our owners were unable to afford us after an earthquake destroyed our family home, and I was sent to live with my aunt. She didn't care about my butler status, and barely talked to me. Her husband, my uncle Ryotaro, he gave me the orders. I'd help him build sheds or things like that, but he used it for bonding purposes if anything."

Uncle Ryotaro, huh? "So you have had experience spending time with people more for fun than work, yes?"

Yoshikazu grumbled before he replied, "I don't... I suppose so, Master Kizami. Were my father still alive, he would shame me for straying from the path of servitude. He gave his all to push me down that path he also took, and now I am turning from that future he crafted for me."

Yoshikazu finished his tea and stood up, "Are you certain there is nothing I can do for you? I'm working on Satoshi's project, a ballot box, but I could make time if needed."

I waved my hand, "Just promise me you won't overexert yourself. You'd be unable to do your job, and you'd be burdening myself and Shinju with worry. There is nothing wrong with pacing yourself."

He didn't respond for a while, just standing there, processing what I said, "Next time we talk, perhaps I will have more interesting stories to share."

"Next time, huh? Glad to hear you've made time for me," I joked, causing Yoshikazu to turn red once more, "Talk to you soon, Yoshikazu," I waved him off.

So Yoshikazu was trained from a young age to be a butler and never question it, and his uncle tried to take him off of that path? Yoshikazu must be confused, trying to pick between servitude or autonomy. I wish I could help him, but he needs to choose for himself.

Right?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

Not long after Satoshi's outburst in the public vote for our leader, I found Yoshikazu at the library, reading a book. Checking to make sure he had remembered to sign himself into the library, I wrote myself into the system and found a book I had been perusing; History and Anthropological Examination of Modern Japanese Shintoism. Not a dry read, if one has interest in things like this.

I seated myself on a couch seated across from Yoshikazu, crossing my right leg over my left one as I opened the book back to Page 42, where I had left off. As I continued reading on the nuances of modern day worship and how militaristic Shintoism tainted the waters, Yoshikazu finally noticed I was here, "Oh, Master Kizami. Forgive me for not noticing you sooner."

I rolled my eyes, "Calm yourself, Kaz. I'd rather you didn't apologize for something so trivial."

"Trivial?" He looked irritated, "A butler's duty is to always be aware of his surroundings! I wish you would understand my distaste for being so sloppy!"

"Like I said, we're equals. No one here has more authority than you except Monotaro, and if you went around doing what he wanted, then you'd just be a filthy killer," I rebuked him, "Now, excuse me for asking, but if you insist on your honorable family so much, then why did you come to Hope's Peak?"

Yoshikazu was absolutely amazed that I went to such a direct question, and he stuttered, something he'd never done before, "I-I was j-just... Master Kizami, you are dangerous." He didn't say this like a threat, though, and I wondered if it was an attempt at a joke, "I did guarantee you another story last we spoke. Very well."

I set my book down on the table in between us, giving Yoshikazu my full attention, "You have my full attention, Kaz."

Yoshikazu nodded, "I was offered a spot alongside Hanako. She was my cousin, and my uncle told me that I was to accompany her and protect her. I was of course, reluctant to protest. But he told me it wasn't an order, it was a favor. My uncle never ordered me around, and it always confused me. Before I left, he said it was because family do not need orders. They have love instead."

"Ryotaro Ikeda, then?" I guessed.

"A renowned carpenter. Rumors were he was looking for an apprentice, and even the great Mondo Oowada had applied, though now that Master Oowada has passed, I am unsure if Ryotaro has taken an apprentice or not," Yoshikazu said with a solemn look on his face.

I cursed under my breath, "A killing game. How was that even allowed!?"

Yoshikazu noticed my frustration, "I do not recognize Monotaro as any kind of authority, so I can assure you I will not participate in this game," He checked his watch, "Oh, look at the time. I am needed by Shizue. She asked me to help her sew a costume she has been working on."

I knew exactly what costume she was working on, "Make sure you put your all into it."

Yoshikazu gave me a surprised stare, "You normally ask of me not to overwork on my orders."

"It's not an order, though. It's a request from a good friend of ours," I pointed out, "You are the only person she would ever trust to help her make costumes, Kaz. She trusts you, a lot. For good reason, too."

Yoshikazu thought about it for a moment, "Perhaps I should think of my work here less as orders, but of requests. Thank you for opening my eyes, Master Kizami. I have one request to make to you, as well."

"What is it?" I was curious.

"If... If anything happens to me, I would like it if you promised me you would protect Hanako in my stead," Yoshikazu said this very seriously, "Ryotaro loves us both deeply, but if I can't return myself, she must. At all costs."

"I promise, Kaz. Anything in my power will be done to keep her safe," I said, "I'll see you later."

Yoshikazu walked off, and I reopened my book. Kaz really cares for his uncle and Hanako, huh?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

The scream that echoed out shocked me out of my stupor. Getting up from my seat, I ran out of the lounge. Noticing Hanako freaking out nearby, I fled over only to find Yoshikazu had collapsed. Today had been abnormally hot, and it seems like he had worked so hard he passed out from heat exhaustion.

"Kaz!" I ran over, pouring water from my bottle onto his face, "Hanako! Go get Akihiko and Daisuke! I'll stay with him until you get back!" Hanako nodded, running off to get them. She had no sign of that timidness I normally expected from her.

Kaz's eyes opened up before they got back, "Wh-where am I?"

"Shush your face, Kaz. You passed out. I told you not to work so damn hard," I scolded him, and by the look on his face, he didn't expect me to.

"Master Kizami, it's a butler's job to-" I cut him off.

"Shut up about that, you stubborn oaf!" I was angry, both at him and at myself, "You're not just a butler! Are your duties more important to you than Hanako!?" He gasped, not expecting my fury, "You hurt yourself or worse working too hard? She gets left all alone! Is your work more important than her? Than your family? If that's how you feel, then go ahead! Work yourself to death! But if it's not, then stop this shit right now!"

Shinju had run over, having heard the commotion, "Shinji, what happened!?"

I turned away from Kaz, "Kaz is working himself to death."

Shinju knelt down to ensure Yoshikazu had not hurt himself somehow, "Kaz, is this true?"

He managed to sit up, still breathing heavily, "Shinji, I-"

"Save it! I won't stop you from doing what you want, but I refuse to be a bystander to it!" I stomped off, not even willing to hear what he had to say. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to vacate the area as fast as possible.

"Shinji! That's not fair to him!" Shinju yelled back.

I looked back, a tear running down my cheek, "And my friend suffering over his duties is fair to me!?" She didn't say anymore as I walked away.

That night, as I sat in the lounge, drinking a small glass of orange juice, I heard someone shuffle their feet into the lounge, "Master Kizami, are you in here?"

I didn't move, merely replying, "And what does the butler need of his humble master tonight?"

Yoshikazu frowned upon hearing my response, "Akihiko said you like to come here at night and think about things. I wanted to find you, so that I can apologize."

"What? 'I'm sorry I failed my duties as a butler today', or some other excuse? Right?" I shot back, still quite done with his disregard for his own well being.

He flinched as I lashed at him with my sharp tongue, "No, I came to apologize for endangering your friend by being a thick-headed fool." I glanced at him, and he seemed genuinely apologetic, "I didn't consider the young master's feelings, and I made him quite upset with me. Could you ever forgive me?"

"Already did. Do it again, though, and you're fired," I warned him, a smile breaking out on my face.

Yoshikazu bowed, "Understood, Mas...Shinji."

Did he just use my name!?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

I heard a knock on my cottage door, and I opened it to be greeted by Yoshikazu, who averted my gaze, "Shinji, I have something I must ask of you."

I didn't look too concerned, but considering no one had been murdered yet, I assumed it wouldn't be too bad, "You can ask it, then. Kaz. I'm your friend. So just ask me."

Kaz nodded, "I know, it is just nerve-wracking to ask something like this of you. My problem is a minor one, certainly. There is someone here, and whenever I see them, my heart races. I assumed that you would know what this means, since Shinju has referred to you as 'Emotions Incarnate'. I have never felt this way before, and I..."

I was surprised by his confession, "Damn, Kaz. Looks like you're either infatuated or in love."

Yoshikazu scratched his chin, "I feared as much. This is a great disgrace for the Ultimate Butler. My father's number one tenet was not to interweave your personal life with your professional relationships. Clearly, I've let my emotions take precedence for too long."

"Kaz, what do you want?" He didn't grasp what I meant by my question, "Do you want to be in a romantic relationship with this person or not?"

He was clearly struggling to answer that question, since he didn't respond, "The truth of the matter is that I don't know. It has already negatively affected my work ethics. If I were to pursue a relationship with them it might become even more serious."

I decided to give him the only advice I thought was worth his time, "Then wait. If you're not sure, just give it time. Confess or don't, it's your choice, but make sure it's what you want. Life's short. Don't regret what should have, could have, would have been. Those will stay with you and eat away at you, every moment of every day."

Yoshikazu gave me a depressing look, "Is that what happened to you, Shinji?"

"Sh-shut up! My business is my own!" I calmed down and tried to explain, "I made a poor life choice, once. There will be times when I'll cry myself to sleep wondering what I should have done, how I could have resolved it. So when you decide whether to confess or not, remember what I said. Lost love can be the most painful experience you can have."

Yoshikazu didn't respond, merely nodding his head and closing the door. Depressed after thinking back to past mistakes I made before I transferred to Hope's Peak, I sat on my bed and lamented my failures.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get?**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

"Yoshikazu?" I asked, stepping into the lounge. It was late, but I knew that Yoshikazu had been working hard today.

I noticed he was sitting at the table he normally did, and I joined him, "Hey, Kaz. Glad to see you resting like we bugged you to."

Yoshikazu nodded, "Yes, Master Ichijou... Um... Daisuke, I mean... He reminded me of the importance of resting. He and Shinju have both been keeping very careful watch of me to ensure I don't hurt myself in the line of work."

I smiled, knowing full well how persuasive those two are, "Yes, yes. Bro and Shinju are quite forceful when they need to be," I folded my arms, "I've been talking with Hanako, trying to convince her not to be so scared. I don't know why she's like that, but I'm not going to force her to change."

"I am certain you are influencing best you can," Yoshikazu replied, "I speak from experience."

"The shyness thing is cute, anyways. I'm certain Kenji agrees," I joked.

Yoshikazu sighed, "Yes, Master Amagi is quite kind to Hanako. It's odd to see such kindness from someone quite so... eccentric."

"He's weird, but he's not evil," I replied, "No matter what he says. At least, that's how I see it."

We sat in silence for a bit before Yoshikazu spoke up again, "To be honest, Shinji... When we first came here, I was already on the verge of giving up on my title. I told you I only came to protect Hanako. There is more to that story, and I would enjoy my story to live beyond me."

"Live beyond you...?" I was confused, but I didn't stop him.

"My mother married my father knowing how she would train me. But she was not prepared for how ruthless he would be," Yoshikazu was actually sounding very depressed telling this story, "Eventually, she tried to get me out of that environment, and my father..." he stopped for a moment, "Her death was labeled an accident. She fell from the balcony to her death. On my father's death bed, he confessed what he had done, that he had pushed her in a rage. He expressed his regrets, and asked that I abandon the teachings of such a worthless killer like him."

"Holy shit..." I had heard some dramatic stories in my time, but this one was on a whole other level.

Yoshikazu sighed, "So when I came here, my conflict was not duty and freedom. It was guilt. Had I never been born, my parents would never have..." he shook his head, "I would think the reason I try so hard at my duties here is to atone for his crime. I know it is foolish of me to blame myself, but..."

Grabbing a small glass and filling it with some simple cola, I sat back down, "Yeah, it is," I concurred, "But I also can't blame you for feeling that way, either."

He laughed, the first time in a while, "It is like me to think of things so simply. However, I have decided to change. I want more than my father settled for; I wish to become the best butler the world has ever known; but I also want to be happy outside of my work."

"I'm sure your parents would be proud of this compromise of yours... Regardless, I'll do my best to support you," I assured him.

Yoshikazu shook my hand, not as a subordinate, but as an equal, "Thank you, Shinji. For your support. I must go and aid Shinju; she asked me to lend a hand in designing something... No, I must not spoil the surprise."

As Yoshikazu left, I felt a strong bond between us. Yoshikazu was finally able to be himself, free of his past regrets. Now if only I could forgive myself...

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Upkeep". With the support of your loyal friend and butler, your Influence Gauge now slightly recovers over time in Concentration and Focus Time.**

 **You have been awarded Yoshikazu's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	5. Nico's Free Time Events

**Author's Note: This one gives insight into both Nico's relationships with others but also more in depth into how personable he is in getting people to talk with him as well. There's also hints and details of Shinji's past. Forewarning that this gets rather dark in comparison to some of the earlier events.**

 _ **Free Time Events with Nico B., the Ultimate Rising Star**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

I was rather bored, so I decided to hang out with Nico. Ever since that whole awkward confrontation with Shinju at the docks, he's been rather cautious of me, though I certainly understood why.

Nico was talking to Kibou in the library, and I assume it had to deal with their reading club, "Yoshikazu might be too busy, but Emiko and Kenji have both agreed to join us. With Hanako and Shinju, that makes six people total. Better than I'd hoped for."

Kibou nodded, "Alright, I understand. I'll go and speak with Daisuke, Akihiko, and Satoshi. I'm certain I can ring Satoshi into this, at the least." Kibou quickly hurried out, rushing past me.

"Hey, Nico. Working on your book club, right?" I asked.

Nico noticed me and gave me an odd glare, "Yeah. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of books, but we don't have many alternatives. Plus, it'd be really hard to get murdered in the middle of book club. As long as I don't wander about alone like a dumb ass, I can't be stabbed."

I signed myself in and picked up an Anthropology book I had been reading, sitting across from Nico, "I'd join you all, but I'm a pretty boring reader. Considering the situation we're in, it shouldn't surprise you, though."

Nico laughed a bit, "Well, looks like it's time for your Free Time Events, right? You feel like someone who will either die early or end up freaking bananas, you know?"

"What?" I was confused, as I had never heard someone else break the 4th wall before, "Me, bananas? That would be a lame plot twist, don't you think?"

After rubbing his chin for a moment, he nodded, "Yeah, too easy. Has to be someone everyone likes, whom we'd least suspect."

As I opened my book, I occasionally looked over at Nico, who was watching me very carefully, "Am I really that suspicious? There's no way I'd murder somebody, right? Riiight? Trash could never kill a Symbol of Hope like you guys."

"Oh, god, not this shit again!" Nico stood up, looking around, as if he was planning to flee the library.

I rolled my eyes, "Calm down, Nico. It's a joke. You always seem so wary of me. I feel like a villain or something."

"I've told you, I play a lot of games. Murder mysteries, things like that. So I'm very wary of plot twist characters like you," he thought for a moment, "Satoshi, Shizue, Kenji, Takeshi. I'm very wary of you five, since you all are different from the rest of us."

I shrugged, "I don't know what you mean, but I'll leave it at that. Maybe one day you can tell me why I'm so weird."

Before I could leave the room, he stopped me, "Alright, look. Shizue and Kenji's talents are obviously suspicious, and Takeshi's is a mystery. He could be an Ultimate Serial Killer for all I know. Satoshi's constantly under stress, so I could imagine him cracking under it. The leader types always die early, you know?"

"Kenji might cause an accident, and if Shizue isn't wary of who she dresses up as, that could be an issue, as well," I agreed with Nico to some extent, "Takeshi isn't completely horrible, though. Satoshi... Well, considering his outburst, I can understand why you'd think that."

Nico wondered how I took what he said in stride, but he left it alone for now, "As for you, Shinji, and don't take this personally... I get a weird feeling around you, like there's something you're not telling us. And depending on what that is, it could make or break our school life here."

I was caught off guard by his accusation, "Wh-what do you mean!?"

Nico placed his book on the table, "Ultimate Romantic? I was suspicious of that talent from the start. Everyone else's guarantees us some kind of ability or use. But all you have is feelings. So I thought, maybe that's a lie," I was so surprised by this I couldn't defend myself, "So are you perhaps a member of the Reserve Course Students? No, a plot twist like that is so painfully drab. So that leaves me to believe your talent is something you have to hide."

I looked away from him. He was... He was completely right. I had not actually disclosed the full content of what I had been chosen to go to the Academy for. I felt like it truly didn't matter, "You... How observant of you, hmhmhm."

"So what I'm thinking is that you're the last member of that group, Ultimate Despair. Maybe you're the reason we're all stuck here," Nico wasn't playing around at this point, "So you can tell me the secret you're hiding, or I'm going to have to publicly reveal my suspicions. I don't wish to do that, but if I can't trust you to be honest..."

I only had one thing I could do. I laughed. I laughed, almost manically, "You are so smart, Nico!" I placed my hand over my face, covering most of it, "Playing a dangerous game, though, aren't you? If I wanted to, I could murder you right here. Keep you quiet. I'd never do something so villainous, but if you're this calculated, it seems like a bad move."

Nico got into a defensive stance, as if watching for me to make my move, "Kill me here, you'll get caught. Then you die with me. If you're really Ultimate Despair, you'd never be so sloppy."

"What a brilliant revelation! Are you certain your talent is merely that of a rising Youtube star!?" My hands at either side, I decided to mess with him, "You're so gifted! A harbinger of hope!"

"Oh god, you are freaking bananas! If you don't tell me the truth now, I'll announce this to everyone tomorrow at breakfast! Do you want that!? Just be honest with me!" Nico exclaimed, pointing at me.

I turned and walked away, "Nico, I must say I've learned about you, today. You're as smart as you seem in your videos."

"Wha...? Are you saying...?" Nico trailed off, not expecting that surprise.

"All aboard the S.S. LP, right?" I turned and signed myself out, before setting the book back, "Do what you have to, Nico. I'm not gonna stop you. But if you do reveal it, you'll also showcase your investigative abilities and sharp wit. Someone might murder you over that, you know?"

I left and went back to my room, fearing what would happen the next day. If I had just told him, things might have been resolved more easily, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I'd rather die than discuss how I discovered my talent...

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

The first thing I learned the next morning was that Nico was a man of his word.

When everyone was seated, he opened up a discussion about his suspicions of someone being Ultimate Despair, "Remember when Monotaro revealed one of us is a member of Ultimate Despair? Someone who may have trapped us all in here?" he waited for the others to nod, "I wish to discuss something I've been thinking about now."

Satoshi quickly accepted his discussion, "Ah, yes, we've been putting that topic off , but it is something we should consider."

Nico nodded, "I was speaking with Shinji last night, and I told him I was suspicious of him. His talent is so different from ours, right? Plus, the talent of Ultimate Romantic doesn't have effects outside of himself, right? So I suspected he wasn't telling us the whole truth. When I pried him for information, he refused, and started talking all crazy and shit."

I didn't respond for a moment, "I have been different lately," Chuckling, I gave him my rebuttal, "I have my reasons for keeping secrets, Nico. Certainly a man who refuses to tell us his REAL name could understand that!?"

Nico was not prepared for my counter argument to strike there, but he didn't get thrown over by that, "My real name isn't important! I have hundreds of videos to prove I'm who I say I am! You're an enigma to us! You don't talk much about your past, and you always get defensive like this when you do!"

"I have forsaken my pitiful and boring past!" I yelled back, my hand balled into a fist, "The only remnants of that morbid timeline left that matters is what makes my life a living hell!"

A couple of people seemed surprised by my outburst, but some came to my defense, "So what? Takeshi hasn't even told us his talent. If anyone's Ultimate Despair, it'd obviously be someone like him!" Shinju was not content to sit back and watch a witch hunt.

Takeshi groaned, "Shut this bitch up. I'm the Ultimate Badass, if you have to know!"

"Oh, that's cool!" Emiko nodded in confirmation.

Nari rolled her eyes, "That's obviously a lie, stupid! Only thing he's good at is being the Ultimate Asshole."

Nico spoke up once more, "I talked to him last night, and he got quite defensive, as if he was afraid of me prying. I gave him a chance to admit the truth, and instead he complimented my investigation skills."

I began laughing, "Wow, you really went through with it, huh?" Everyone turned to me, "You may have just disclosed too much info. Someone must have set a trap for you."

"Trap? The fuck you talkin' about?" He suddenly yelled back with a slightly deeper, gangster-sounding voice.

"Remember what I warned you about last night?" He looked confused, "People are going to be extra wary of you now. Anyone who becomes Blackened anyways."

Yoshikazu nodded, "Indeed, Master B. has proven he is quite capable of investigating leads. Though I think a murderer would likely target Emiko first due to her experience in psychology."

Nari jumped to Emiko's defense, "Anyone who even so much as tries is going to be brutally beaten by me! You understand!?"

"Fuck!" Nico exclaimed in a squeakier voice. He was now considered a threat.

I interrupted him, "Now everyone here thinks I'm suspicious, and for good reason. My talent as Ultimate Romantic gives me a couple of sweet abilities, but I haven't disclosed them. For personal reasons."

Nico's eyes went wide, "Oh, you devious son of a bitch!" he said this with an angry and more nasally voice, and I remembered how much he enjoyed doing voices, "I say we tie this crazy bastard up so he doesn't cause us problems!"

"Is that really your solution, Nico?" I was too far gone at this point to stop myself, and I continued prodding, "Hide the problem? What a shame to do that to your fan. But who would want me to be their fan, right?" I shrugged, "Tie me up, kill me, whatever you want. Go ahead. I'm not afraid. You could even say... I might prefer such ending."

Shinju grabbed my shoulder, but I shoved her away from me, "Shinji! What's wrong with you!?"

The truth was that I no longer had any more of my depression medications, but I hid that fact from them so they didn't panic. Now I was reverting to my less amicable self. I pulled a bottle out of my pocket and tossed it to her, "Ran out of my depression meds. No big deal. I don't need them anymore."

Some people recognized this, "Oh, right. You take 'em with drinks, right?" Daisuke spoke up, "Why didn't you get more from the pharmacy?"

I was frowning now, "They didn't have any, so I have to make due without them," I turned to Nico, "If you wanna know, I'll tell you. When I was selected, they ended up with Romantic to not disclose my true potential. It is true my emotions define me, but they also called me an arbiter. An Ultimate Arbiter, if you will. I can supposedly wield unlimited power."

"Unlimited... power?" Akihiko spoke up, concerned with how differently I was acting.

"I discovered my power by pure coincidence," I was no longer hiding my past from them all. I was freeing myself from it, "Turns out I can transform the emotions of those around me. If I'm depressed, I can bring everyone down. I can fill you with despair, with hope, with anger. But most importantly, I can even affect your Ultimate Talents."

Nico was no longer remaining quiet, "What!? What is that supposed to mean?!"

I admitted, "If you all knew I could affect your emotions by just being there... If you all knew I could enhance or sabotage your Ultimate abilities were I nearby... Wouldn't you expel me? Wouldn't you hate me? Wouldn't you ridicule me?" I hesitated continuing, but I decided to disclose the truth, "That is why I was designated the Ultimate Romantic. The school hid my true abilities so they could observe them in a natural environment. I was no more than a trash guinea pig for their social experiments, and you are the experimental group, it seems."

I began walking off, and Nico raised his hand out in my direction, "Shinji, you could have told us that! We wouldn't have kicked you out over that! I mean, you're acting like a total ass right now, but..."

"If anyone wants to end my miserable existence, I'll be in my cottage. So have fun," I walked off, wallowing in my self-pity. I stopped and turned, "Nico, whoever told you to admit to me your suspicions, watch out for them. They set you up. People will know you're a threat in the game now. Don't die because of my worthless self."

As I returned to my cottage, I knew that Nico had learned far more about me than he had expected.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

After that incident at breakfast, I spent all my time in my room, missing both lunch and dinner. It was the morning the next day, and even as Monotaro's morning announcement played, I made no movement towards my door. Cutting myself off from the others must have looked suspicious, but I couldn't bother to care. I was too busy having anxiety attacks brought about by bad memories.

At around 10 AM, I heard a knock at my door. I reluctantly stood up and walked over. Maybe someone had decided to accept my offer and murder me? Would I let them? Don't know yet.

I opened the door, and was quickly jumped on by the person I'd least suspected; Granberia. "What are you doing!?"

Granberia held me close, "You haven't left your room in so long! I was terrified that something had actually happened to you!"

"Oh, come on! Like he'd die first!" I heard someone else speaking, and I looked up to see Nico, "Plus, that just wouldn't be right, to leave it off like that."

"Nico? What... Why are you here?" I wasn't expecting him of all people.

Nico shrugged, scratching the back of his head, "We discussed things last night at dinner, and decided to fix what we started. Yoshikazu found an extra storage of medicine in the pharmacy, and even the meds you and Satoshi use. Granberia requested to bring them to you since she knew you'd open the door for her, and I joined her so I could apologize."

Nico tossed me a small container, "60 capsules of the usual stuff, look at that," I commented dryly, not sure what to think, "Apologize, though? You didn't do anything wrong, Nico. If I was just more honest with you all..."

"Look, it's fine now. Right now, we need teamwork more than ever," he sighed, "I know exactly what will happen if we bide our time and twiddle our thumbs."

I stood up, helping Granberia to her feet, "Thanks for the friendly advice, but... I'd rather just stay locked up. Least until these pills are working again. My unmedicated self is too much of an asshole, if you get my drift."

"I noticed," Nico quickly replied, and I couldn't help but laugh at his serious expression he was carrying, "That's not even a joke!"

Nico, Granberia, and I went to the lounge, where we shared bagels and indulged in small talk for a while. Nico was wary of the rest of us, and I had to appreciate his caution. Careless actions could get us brutally murdered, after all.

Sitting down, I pointed out, "So Nico, have you been spending time with all of us properly? Forging bonds and linking your social life together?"

Nico reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, it's tough. Some people are confrontational, others are afraid to open up," he hesitated for a second, "The better you know people, the better you can predict them. I don't like to view my friends as possible suspects, but in a situation like this..."

"At least you're being practical. That whole 'Oh we're friends, nothing bad will happen' attitude is pathetic. It's like forsaking everything you know about human weaknesses," I delivered my very cynical personal view on the subject, "I would love if none of us died. But anyone who thinks that'll be the end result is a bit too optimistic for my tastes. Monotaro's been quiet, lately. He's probably conjuring up a really great motive, or at least an effective one."

Granberia sat in silence for a while before speaking up, "I'm not gonna kill anyone."

"And I won't let you die on me," I replied, almost immediately, "I'd die before I let that happen."

Nico seemed impressed, "You really sound like you mean that. I wish I could make guarantees like that, but life is... it's unpredictable."

"Of course. How else did you end up here? A nice, kind, and funny Youtuber who does a bunch of voices ends up being forced into this game?" I chuckled, "That's some pretty serious bad luck."

"Glad I like mystery games, though. Gives me an advantage here," Nico added.

Granberia turned to him, a quizzical look on her face, "Why do you mention that around us? Aren't you afraid we might, you know? Murder you?"

He shook his head, "Shinji's a fan of mine. He already knows what I do and how I think. If anything, he could use that to trick me pretty easily," he turned to her, "You remind me of someone from a game, as well. They'd never kill anybody, and you seem to follow that mantra, so..."

"No matter how smart or genre savvy you are, you're still a nice guy, huh, Nico?" The three of us laughed before turning back to a sillier conversation.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Nico and I eventually decided to discuss a bunch of random topics the very next day, trying to better understand each other. Eventually, we came across a very certain subject, "So, uh, got a girl waiting for you back home? Or you know, a guy, I don't judge."

I didn't expect Nico to ask such a straightforward question, "Trying to find out if I'd kill to be free, hm?"

He wasn't expecting me to accuse him of that, but he responded quickly, "No, I was just... Well, I was honestly curious. If you'd rather not talk about it..."

Hesitating for a moment, I decided to be partially honest, "I used to be in love with a girl. Still am, if I think about it. We got along great, you know? We had our arguments and everything, but everyone does," I took another sip of my cola, "Then, one day... Our relationship was terminated, permanently. She died, in a tragic occurrence."

Nico hadn't been expecting a twist like that in the story, and he continued listening intently, "Oh, man, I... I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"She was murdered. The story was, a group of... of scumbag criminals had attacked her. They suspected it was over money or something. Back then, I was young and foolish, and I swore I'd chase them down and make 'em pay. Set my heart on that, but..." I sighed, "I ended up getting invited to Hope's Peak. Around then, I was under severe medication, as you are well aware."

Nico seemed shaken up by my story, "Wow, that... That does make sense... Damn."

I laughed, returning to my own emotional void, "So I won't be killing anyone to get out of here. Not for the dead, at least," I wiped the tears coming out of my eyes as I tried to push the thoughts away, "Though, I wouldn't mind dying here. I mean, if my death saves a single one of you, that's probably a better use of it."

"That's not true!" Nico shot back, catching me unaware, "No one here... Well, at least I think no one here deserves to die!"

"Maybe so, but if you are right, and there are casualties, I'd rather it be me. Rather than anyone here I like," I honestly responded.

Nico's expression turned very grim for a moment, "Just had a thought... If you found out something... If Monotaro revealed someone here had been involved in that event with your girlfriend..."

I glanced into his eyes, "If you're asking what I would do, I would make them beg for death before I ended their worthless fuckin' life..." any humanity I had was absent for this response, "The pain they caused... Not just me, but her, and everyone else in her life... If anyone here was related to that horrible crime, I'd... At least, I'd like to believe that, but I'm too much of a coward... I couldn't even... Protect her." I trailed off, tearing up once more. I wiped them away quickly.

"I-I see," Nico was unsure how to address what I just said.

"But, that isn't possible," I assured him, "None of those worthless scumbags had any notable talents. And even if they did, they can't do any crimes where they are now."

"Prison?" Nico asked, curious.

I hesitated to respond to that question, "Well, they were... They were killed. The news broke when I got invited to Hope's Peak. Any plots of revenge I had were swiftly ended. My journey of vigilante justice was over before it really began."

Nico didn't respond immediately, and instead sipped his drink, "Well, that's a lot more about you I didn't expect to learn. I just hope you're not that serious, you know? About getting vengeance... Monotaro might make up lies, you know? Trick you into suspecting one of us."

I didn't immediately respond either, "Later, I might have to disclose something to you. But it's best I don't say anything now. I don't know if I'm ready to... Talk about it."

Nico nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I'll give you all the time you need."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

I had asked for Nico and the others to meet me in the library, and once everyone was seated, I got up and began my announcement, "I gathered you all here for a confession. I discussed something with Nico, and it reminded me of something I'd almost completely forgot..."

"Get the fuck on with it, then," Takeshi rushed me.

Takumi raised his hand, "You look sickly pale again, dude. Need to get more sun."

"Wow, he can open his mouth and not spew vulgarities? I'm impressed," Nari mocked him, but he laughed it off.

"So... The reason I was selected as Ultimate Arbiter was tied to a couple of events that happened to me..." I sighed, "This story might make you all dislike me, hate me... Fear me. I don't know."

Nico shook his head, "How bad could it be?"

I began, "Before I got accepted, I had a girlfriend, I guess you'd say. We were inseparable, and she was adorable. What led to me discovering my talent was when she died. From what I heard... a gang of hooligans attacked and killed her. I didn't find out what they were called or who they actually were until I saw the news story break. They had limited info, due to there being no witness accounts."

"What area, if I may ask?" Shinju asked.

I sighed, "It was a group called the Grave Dangers. They were operating in multiple places across the country, but eventually they retreated to near where I lived, in Akihabara."

Shinju's eyes widened, "Wait, that group? My parents warned me about them, said they had started assaulting local girls. Killed some, the rumors were..."

"They weren't known for their violence before this time, so no one knows why they had changed. Some suspect it was the group that later made headlines, the one entrapping us here," I admitted, "I did some research at the library, and it contained info on twenty-four people involved in Ultimate Despair."

"Twenty-four!?" Satoshi exclaimed.

"There is probably more, but these twenty-four were the major ones. Two of them, Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba, the twins, were killed in their sick killing game. Fifteen others... Izuru Kamukura, an experiment of Hope's Peak similar to mine. Even some of our Ultimate classmates... Sonia Nevermind, Princess of Novoselic. Ibuki Mioda, a former music star. Teruteru Hanamura, a well-known three-star chef. Kazuichi Souda, the mechanic who fixed up the execution tools. Akane Owari, a gymnast. Nekomaru Nidai, the manager of Kuwata himself. Peko Pekoyama, a hitman for Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, heir to the Kuzuryu clan, a young Yakuza leader. Kuzuryu was also a member."

"These are some pretty serious accusations from a book," Nico commented.

I threw the book to him, and he just barely caught it, "Read it, then. The pictures, everything... If all of that is faked, that's messed up," I continued, "Hiyoko Saionji, that loli dancer. Nagito Komaeda, the renowned Lucky Student. Mahiru Koizumi, the photographer of smiles. Mikan Tsumiki, a poor bullied nurse. An imposter masquerading as Byakuya Togami, and worst of all... Gundham Tanaka, the Ultimate Breeder."

"What!?" Koneko jumped up, almost screaming, "You don't mean my friend Tanaka is a filthy criminal, do you!?"

Nico showed her a page from the book, "Is this him? Because according to these photos..."

Koneko was so horrified by what was depicted on that page that she fell back onto her backside and began crying. Shinju comforted her, "Gundham... What happened!? Why would you..."

"As for those fifteen, they were transferred to Jabberwock Island and have since had their memories erased to rehabilitate them, fill them with hope. Whether it worked, whether they're alive or not, I dunno. The Future Foundation wrote this book, and according to the later pages, it came crashing down when Makoto and the survivors of the first killing game defied them and their brutal policies and formed their own faction. From what the book says, though, those Future Foundation bastards deserve that fate," I stopped, "I mean, they were dead set on killing the next five members of Ultimate Despair. The Warriors of Hope stationed in Towa City. A group of kids, no less!"

Daisuke sat up upon hearing this, "Wh-what!? Towa City?"

"I'm sorry, Daisuke. The events there were far more dire than I anticipated. The kids were trying to eradicate the adults and used robots to fuel that plan. Their leader, Monaka Towa, was... Well, from what I've read of that event, that whole other episode... She sounds like Satan incarnate. Completely, wholly, irredeemably, evil," I chuckled, "Makes me even more afraid of kids, you know? It lists known casualties on it, though, and no Ultimate Reporter was registered dead."

Daisuke sighed, both in relief and surprise.

Takeshi raised his hand, "So why the fuck does this relate to what you were talking about?"

"I was getting to that, you impatient fuck!" As I retaliated in kind with harsh words, he sat back, terrified, "The last student is unidentified. Their gender, name, location, all of that good stuff is unknown. However, they have been tied to a few events. One in particular was that they were recorded by their leader, Junko, as visiting the Grave Dangers on multiple occasions, including shortly before they went on a rampage."

Everyone went silent, "Are you thinking..." Satoshi had realized what I was implying.

I cracked my neck, "As we have all realized, all of us here came with some connection to another person. Yoshikazu and Hanako. Satoshi and Kibou. Nari and Emiko. Mayumi and Koneko. Kenji and Akihiko. Takeshi and Takumi. Daisuke once met Shinju at a game meeting. Nico and Shizue. Everyone but Granberia and I had a connection, right? Or so I thought..."

Granberia noticed what I was going to discuss, "Shinji, you don't have to talk about this! I'm not sure... if that's safe to admit to."

"So instead I hide my crimes? And wait until Monotaro calls me out for it? No..." I refused, "Grave Dangers... They killed my love. And I was angry, I was mad. I wanted vengeance, I wanted them to suffer."

"That's understandable," Nico said, "You told me this. How your vigilante justice was denied."

I sighed, "It wasn't."

"What!?" Nico exclaimed.

Granberia decided to speak up, "When he first got here, I recognized Shinji, but I didn't recall where. When I did, I brought it up with him, and we found out how we were connected."

I continued where she left off, "I must have forgotten the event. Considering how heavily Hope's Peak medicated me in preparation for attending, and considering what I'd done, I now know why."

"What are you saying, Shinji?" Shinju gave me a sad look, clearly frightened by my melancholic tone.

"I'm only at Hope's Peak... I only agreed to come so I wouldn't be charged..." I admitted.

Nico was the first to investigate, "Get charged? What do you mean!?"

I held back tears, "I was angry, so one night I ran away. I took with me a small knife, a switchblade. I was considering suicide. I was just lost, angry, confused. I had ran out of meds and I was traumatized by her death... So I went down to the docks, near where she was killed. Was probably gonna do something stupid. Then I found them..."

Granberia joined me in standing up in front of everyone, "I was homeless for a lot of my life, and I had to survive by stealing. The only time I got caught was by the Grave Dangers. I robbed them of some food I desperately needed. They had cornered me in an alleyway, the entire group. All thirteen of 'em. The rest had been arrested or killed, and these were the ones killing all the local girls. They bragged about it as they approached me. I was so scared... I was going to die."

"A gift from all of the Gods, I received," I smirked, "I happened upon them chasing her into a corner. I recognized them from when I last saw them... I was so happy... I was ecstatic! I grabbed myself an iron pipe from an alleyway and tailed them. When they cornered this poor girl, I had my opportunity. The look on their faces, as I... I killed them all, one by one. It was beautiful... At least, I thought so at the time..."

Granberia shook her head, "I noticed someone attack, and soon Shinji here was fighting them off. I didn't know whether to be confused, happy, or even more afraid."

"I was an animal, out of control. All the pain and suffering they... I was never much of a happy person, so..." I trailed off, "Next thing I knew, I had a bloodied knife in one hand and a bent pipe in my other. And a trail of corpses laid out in front of me, with a girl crying in the corner."

"The fuck...?" Takeshi was completely breaking down from his normal standoffish attitude, "You actually... you took 'em down yourself? You killed them!?"

Nico put two and two together, "So when you told me they'd been killed, that your journey for justice was over... You meant you'd succeeded... What the fuck, man!?"

Granberia came to my defense, "After the fight was done, he dropped his weapons and approached me. I... I tried to flee, but my legs wouldn't move. I was scared and rooted to the spot. But instead of attacking me, or hurting me... He just hugged me. He hugged me, and he cried, mumbling that I'd be fine, that everything was alright. I think I needed to hear it, and so we stayed there, comforting each other..."

"I would have run like hell," Takumi admitted.

Granberia laughed but she quickly returned to a solemn, lonely expression, "Normal people would have. I guess I'm not normal, though. He was the first person who didn't try to attack me, to use me... And if I left him there alone... He likely would have killed himself in that state."

Shinju nodded, "He broke down. Understandable. Shinji's a people person, whether he admits to it or not. Committing a crime like that in an explosion of passionate emotions and then regretting it sounds like something he'd do..."

I clenched my fists tightly, "I'd been bullied, ridiculed. I was even... Well, I had been abused by a lot of people in my life. But I never reacted so violently... I was ashamed, I was confused... And I was scared. Of myself, of what I did..."

Granberia patted me on the shoulder, "Once the police finally arrived, he told me to get out of there. To not get wrapped up in this. As I got out of there, an officer noticed me. So to distract them..."

I lifted my shirt, and they noticed a large scar across my stomach, "I went all seppuku on them. By the time they got me stable and unarmed, she was gone." I smiled at Granberia, and then continued, "I was hoping the wound would have killed me, but alas. I woke up in a hospital, and a representative from Hope's Peak arrived. They'd heard of my... outburst. And after a couple tests, they labeled me an Ultimate and told me if I agreed to their experiment, they'd get the charges dropped. I'd be able to reform myself in the name of hope."

Nico had not expected this revelation, "This is what you wanted to tell me...?"

"When I got here, I didn't remember my crimes. It's likely Hope's Peak gave me those certain meds to cover the event up from my memory. So now that I've remembered, there's nothing I can do. Unless you want me to kill myself or lock myself up in my room again, I can't go back to my old, blissfully ignorant self," I was terrified of how they would react, "I'll accept your judgement, regardless. I'm just a filthy trash bastard who killed people, someone whose only reason for being here is so I could escape jail time. I'm a coward, and a killer, and..." My fist had been clenched so hard I had cut myself again, blood trickling down my arm.

Mayu was the first to speak up, "I do not think this makes you less of a man..." Everyone looked at her, surprised she was the one taking initiative, "You lost control, but you fought them in a fight that was stacked against you. You battled like a true warrior. What many people nowadays take for granted is that what you did was Samurai justice. What need for trials on the obviously guilty? Battle them. If you sought justice, you earned it for yourself. You did not kill them for selfish motivations, no matter what you think."

Nico chimed in, "Hell, you told us about it. If you were really a trashy coward, you'd have kept quiet."

Koneko nodded in agreement, "I couldn't comprehend you attacking any of us like that. You are not some callous monster."

Even Takeshi responded, "Could have been a worse reveal. I once found out my classmate was the fuckin' Serial Killer Genocide Jack once."

Takumi laughed, "And she said, 'I'd never kill you. You're not cute enough!' It was glorious!"

"Shut it, you damn virgin!" Takeshi yelled back at him.

As some of the others talked with Granberia about the incident, Nico, Shinju, and Daisuke walked over to me, "Um, Shinji..." Nico started.

"Look, I get that you're feeling like crap, alright? I understand. But I want my bro to promise not to do anything stupid, like talk of suicide or some other shit," Daisuke demanded me to promise him.

Shinju sat next to me, "Seriously. I don't want to lose you over the past like this," she hugged me tightly, causing me to blush.

"Shinju, come on, it's in public!" She silenced me with a kiss on the lips, "Ugh, fine, fine! You're a snuggly Sassy Beast, you know."

Nico didn't talk for a while, "I'm kinda impressed. That you confessed to all that. If you hadn't told us... Well, it's true Monotaro would have used it to sever our ties, but still... Damn."

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier... I just..." I was cut short.

"Don't worry about it. It's a done deal," Nico shook my hand, "You may not be the purest soul out there, but you're not some evil crafty bananas bastard or a total, heartless dick. As long as you don't murder someone, I think we'll get along just fine."

I smiled up at him, "Th-thanks, Nico..." After a second, I asked, "If you trust me now, can I know your real first name? I won't tell anyone..."

Nico laughed, "Just curious, huh?" he whispered in my ear, and my eyes went wide in surprise.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Seeker of Truth". Revealing the truth and earning the friendship of Nico allows you to more easily destroy white noise statements in nonstop debates.**

 **You have been awarded Nico's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	6. Mayu's Free Time Events

Author's Note: Let the battle of hearts begin! Shinji will find himself in compromising situations and a rivalry unlike no other! Can he break the chains of tradition, or will he be dragged down with them? It's time for an intense showdown between Fate and Freedom!

 _ **Free Time Events with Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Making good on our earlier promise to Mayu, who had been mostly overshadowed in the later discussions amongst the group, Shinju and I took her to the lounge to have a talk with her.

I had to admit, she was quite beautiful, her fair skin and luxurious purple hair flowing in the wind. Noticing my distracted facial expression, Shinju grumpily elbowed me in my stomach. Grumbling to myself, I gathered us all drinks; green tea for Mayu, another espresso for Shinju, and a glass of chocolate milk for me. Oh, the calories.

"Thanks for joining us, Mayu. We assumed you might be busy doing... well, something. You just seem so prim and proper," Shinju said, starting the conversation awkwardly.

Mayu sighed loudly, "Really, it is mostly my family's way of raising their offspring." She wasn't wearing a kimono this time, as Shinju had dragged her to the supermarket to get more functional, modern clothes. Now she wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans, along with sneakers, "Still not even used to this form of dress."

I laughed as I handed Shinju her drink and set Mayu's down carefully, so as not to spill, "One hot green tea, two teaspoons of sugar and one of cream, just as you requested. Not sure why you wanted cream, buuuuut I'm not one to judge." I sat down across from her.

"As you may remember, I requested of the two of you to aid me in familiarizing myself in the modern world. I love my parents dearly, but a trend has been occurring in my family. My siblings have all forsaken the old ways and moved on. As such, my parents did their best to raise me to adhere to their every whim," Mayu began explaining her home life to us.

"Understandable," I nodded, "They wish to keep their traditions alive."

She nodded vigorously, "And I respect that, and I love them with all my heart. The sad thing is, were it not for Hope's Peak, I was very unsure about my future. I enjoy archery, of course, but it's not a very feasible job skill anymore. My parents expect me to take a husband and bring them back with me to ordain them in all of the rules they've imposed."

Shinju asked, "So, do you not want to get married? Or is it the whole absorbing him into the past thing weird?"

Mayu laughed, "It is not that I would refuse marriage. I have always had romantic dreams of some hero sweeping me off of my feet. Or perhaps I save his life in the wilds and he fawns over me. I am content with both ideals. I just wonder if my parents would accept what I want..."

"Are you sure you want Shinju and I to, you know, taint you? With the modern day stuff? Isn't that like, against their rules of purity and being unmarred?" I joked, but I was trying to find out her motivation.

Shinju smacked me in the shoulder, "Come on, don't make it sound so bad. She just wants a bit of exposure to the modern world before she makes a careless decision, right?"

Mayu thought about what she said, "Honestly, I'm ready to embrace the new world. I have had very few interactions with modern life, and those few experiences with Koneko. I enjoy her company, and I'd much rather a social life instead of one of seclusion."

I definitely understood what she meant by that, "Right. Koneko said she met you through tending to your local shrine fox, Tamamo. Cute little thing, from what I've heard."

"Yes, I've always enjoyed that shrine. It has been passed down in my family for many generations," Mayu nodded, "So, I would like it if next time we meet, you could show me one of these... 'Anime' I have heard so much about. Something I might be able to relate to..."

I smirked, "I've already got one in mind for you."

Shinju glared at me, "I swear, if it's hentai..."

"No, no, Shinju. How tactless. I'd only watch that with one of you alone..." I winked, but she elbowed me in the stomach again, "Jokes! It's a joke!"

Mayu snickered, "Shinju, as Kenji told me... 'It's a joke, not a dick. Don't take it so hard'. Did I use that right?"

I gave her a thumbs up, as Shinju glared at me, "Well, she did!"

Shinju rolled her eyes, "Grow up, please."

Mayu just laughed as Shinju and I bickered back and forth for a while before resuming our peaceful conversation.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

Mayu, Shinju, and I had gathered in my room because I had bothered to drag a big screen television into my room. Without their help, of course. Luckily Yoshikazu had my back. As I started setting up the DVD player and inserted the proper DVD, I sat on my bed and motioned for the two of them to join me.

"Suspicious, much?" Shinju said, looking me over as if I was planning something.

Mayu quickly jumped up and sat next to me, folding her legs and preparing herself, "Come on, Shinju! Let's get this show on the road!"

Shinju rolled her eyes and reluctantly sat next to me, though I ignored her indecision, "If you try anything..."

I quickly shoved her playfully, "Shush your face. The world doesn't revolve around you."

"Yours should..." I didn't quite catch that, but I left it alone, noticing she was frowning.

I pressed play, and we dived into the world that was Inuyasha. It had people with adorable furry ears, demons, a strong heroine who murdered stuff with bow and arrow. What else could I have selected to introduce Mayu to the future? Well, the early millennial years, at least.

After four hours of old-school demon slaying action later, I paused the show, "And I'm getting exhausted. Can we like, watch more later?"

Mayu frowned, "Oh, come on! We were just going to see Inuyasha's dreamy human form! I mean, not that I'm interested in that or anything!"

"Whoa, whoa, whooooa. Way too much tsundere in here. There's only room for two, and barely that," I exclaimed, urging Shinju into sticking her tongue out at me in contempt.

Mayu laughed, "Oh, yes, yes. I know..." she quickly jumped up, "I can't wait to watch more. Kagome's character really speaks to me! She gets swept off her feet, and saves the hero! And her skill! I mean, I could do what she did, but I don't have such interesting things to shoot or any noble goals to complete in doing so. If only I lived in feudal times..."

Shinju joked, "Look what you have done, Shinji. You've awakened a very powerful Otaku demon."

I scratched the back of my head, "So, I didn't expect that to be quite as successful, you know? I thought it would be an acceptable start, but..."

Mayu grabbed my hands, sparkles in her eyes, "No, no, it was very thoughtful of you! You managed to find me something very interesting and thought provoking in one try! My family has told me many legends of my ancestors' battle with Yokai, but to see that personified in a show is so much more exciting! My heart is pounding with such ferocity right now!"

Laughing, I opened the door to my cottage and escorted the two home, "Then we can watch some more tomorrow, if Shinju's free."

Shinju shrugged, "I'm busy tomorrow. Got a date with Akihiko."

Rolling my eyes, I laughed it off, "Yeah, right. Training isn't a date, and you're just mad he outboxed you. I mean, what did you expect challenging an Ultimate? The only one here you could outdo in a challenge involving their own Ultimate talent at this point is Takumi, and only because at the very least Nari swings both ways."

"Swinging? Are there tree vines nearby?" Mayu asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Shinju shook her head, "Not what he meant. Look, be that way. Have your little anime date with Mayu, I don't care. I couldn't care less what you do in your spare time." She was being huffy with me again. So cute.

"If I rephrased that question to whom I do in my spare time, you would," I quipped. Shinju smacked me once more, "Jokes! Joookes!"

"Yeah, yeah... Good night, Mayu. Watch this guy, he's crafty. More so than Takumi. First he's all nice, and then boom! Your heart is in his hands..." Shinju acted out what she was accusing me of before she walked off and entered her cottage.

I calmly wiped my bangs out of my face, "Seriously, that woman... Lord knows I love her company, but she doesn't get it. I'm not a ladies' man. Not popular with them before, not now."

Mayu didn't respond for a moment, and I noticed she was staring at me. As she saw me looking back, she quickly averted her gaze, blushing, "Oh, sorry. I was just daydreaming! My mind has been stimulated too much by the show, I guess."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's probably it. I'll see you tomorrow night, Mayu. Stay safe."

Mayu nodded and entered her cottage, and as I walked away I didn't hear what happened next.

Pressed against the door, Mayu placed her hand over her heart, "The show is over, yet my heart beat is still quick. What is this sensation? How would my parents handle this? Why do I feel... flushed?"

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

A few days had gone by, and Mayu and I had made some pretty serious progress, reaching the beginning of the battles with the Band of Seven. Mayu had been crushing on all three of the male heroes in the story, giving me ample room to tease her in her new found interest. Despite all that, it was really enjoyable to spend time with her and Shinju and just relax. Training with Akihiko, running with Daisuke, and even the times I spent with Kenji were both time-consuming and exhausting.

Sadly, this night Shinju had to cancel on us once more, since she promised to spend time with Hanako, Nari, and Emiko. I'd make jokes about that, but she'd find me. Probably.

Hearing the expected knock on my door, I quickly opened it up and greeted Mayu with a smile. I was stunned into being unable to speak when I noticed she was wearing a new accessory; a headband with fox ears. What?

"Mayu?" she nodded, smiling, "Um, are you aware you have become a kitsune?"

Mayu nodded, "Of course, Shinji! I found them in the supermarket when I was spending time with Shinju and it looked too cute not to wear!"

I nodded, "I mean, you're not wrong. So tonight we're watching the battle against the mysterious and evil Band of Seven, yeah?"

Mayu shook her head, "Actually, I wanted to challenge you to something else. Akihiko suggested expanding my interests, and he gave me these!" She handed me a kendo stick, those painful bamboo ones.

"What, you want to practice Kendo?" she nodded excitedly, "Look, swords are cool and all, but I'm not suited for combat like you are."

Mayu frowned, "Come on, Shinji! Aki said he had faith in you after all that training you've done! It shouldn't be a problem for you, right!?"

I sighed, "Can we have witnesses? I want someone to be there to verify my time of death."

And that was how I found myself in the small gym area in the bathhouse just in front of the locker rooms. With the proper tatami mats set out, we both wielded our kendo sticks.

Shizue cheered from the sidelines, having joined us on the way here. Granberia and Koneko, who also expressed interest in this battle, joined her, though they were much less enthusiastic. They must have known I'd meet with a terrible fate, huh?

"Round one! Fight!" Shizue waved her white flag she had gotten from the world culture part of the supermarket, rudely placed under French goods.

We had decided that a point would be awarded if either of us were disarmed or knocked off of our feet. Simply getting a hit would mean I stood no chance, and Mayu wanted me to endure the pain to further hone my body. Why she cared, I didn't press for answers.

As soon as Shizue gave us the go ahead, Mayu swung forward, her wooden blade traveling in a wide arc. As it smacked me in the chin, I stumbled back, completely defenseless. Seizing this opportunity, she unleashed a flurry of blows, hitting my knees, stomach, chest, and legs. After seventeen or so hits, the pain grew too much and I fell backwards onto my back.

"Point to Mayu!" Shizue was excited as she announced the results, and Granberia and Koneko both shook their heads in disappointment. No! My waifus! I must not fail their expectations!

I quickly got to my feet, taking a defensive stance. Maybe I was just some nerd who picked up sword training because he'd watched too many anime, but damn it, I had something to prove!

Mayu laughed, "Oh, getting back up? I thought you were already finished. Perhaps you might dodge one of my hits this time?" She was giving me the haughty attitude she carried when she crushed Shinju in an archery competition. Mayu was ruthless in contests, and it was pretty cool to watch.

"Finished? After one round? My name isn't Yamcha! I'll go all Bankai on you, thank you very much!" Shizue waved the flag to commence the second round, and I flew forward. Feinting right, I jumped to the side and bowed down. Striking low, I brought my blade up to strike her hard from the side.

She deflected the blow with her own blade and with a quick flick of her wrist, disarmed me, "Point Two! To Mayu!"

Mayu was grinning deviously, "Are you really a warrior capable of facing off against me?" she began mocking me, "Maybe if my life was on the line, you could defend me. Or would you just cower in the corner? A mere spectator to my untimely demise?"

Rage. Blinding, concentrated anger. Adrenaline began pumping into my system like never before. What she had said struck a chord with me, though I couldn't remember why. The game was on!

Shizue waved the flag, "Round Three!"

I stood rooted to the spot, feeling the anger in my very blood. I would not allow that remark to go by unpunished.

Mayu noticed something was off, but she disregarded it. She jumped forward and struck out, trying to hit me with a quick strike to my side. Countering her, I deflected the blow so hard that the force shook my entire body. Not expecting such a fierce and direct defensive maneuver, Mayu left herself open. Not wasting time, I swiped my kendo blade to the side and swung upward, putting in considerable force. Hitting her square in the jaw, I knocked her off of her feet, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Koneko and Granberia were both speechless at this turn of events, as Shizue announced my first point. Granberia had a noticeably grim look on her face, "Granberia? Is somethin' wrong?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm just... I'm just imagining things."

Koneko gave me her approval in the forms of a thumbs up, "You didn't let her win a flawless victory! Good work, Shinji!" Awe.

Mayu slowly picked herself up, giving me a dangerous look. She was out for blood. Despite that, she looked excited, as if she was thrilled that I was putting up such a fight for her, "Shinji! That's it! The face of a warrior! Now it's worth my time to crush your spirit!"

Shizue waved her flag, and Mayu came for me, moving so quickly I could barely keep up with her footwork, "Gah!" She struck her wooden sword directly into my stomach. I instinctively opened my mouth, and after a second blow on the back of my neck, I crumpled to the floor.

"Winner! Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer!" Shizue declared, an ecstatic look on her face.

Koneko walked over and offered me her hand, which I graciously accepted as she pulled me to my feet, "Wow, you're stronger than you look." She had lifted me with relative ease.

"I could say the same. I am proud of you not getting sweeped," She complimented me earnestly, and I just wanted to pinch her adorable little cheeks, the way she was blushing right then.

Mayu was staring at me, and it made me very self-conscious all of a sudden. Instead of saying anything about that, I congratulated her, "Great match, Mayu. That was honestly seriously intense."

She didn't respond immediately, "I demand a rematch. A week from now."

Her determined face caught me off guard. Monotaro had been very liberal in letting us run free. Apparently, he would wait a full month before bringing in the hard motives. His theory was that the closer we all bonded together, the more despair would be induced upon us once the killing game began anew.

So while it was certainly possible to face her in that fated rematch, I was afraid to agree so quickly, "A rematch? Why so much later?"

Mayu hesitantly responded, "My parents taught me one rule as a child, and made me promise to it. I must duel you, for honor's sake. I am giving you a week to train so you won't be slaughtered so easily. I want to beat you at your best."

Honor's sake? I shrugged, "Then I acce-" She cut me off.

"Before you do, I must warn you. If you lose, the consequences will be dire," she warned.

"What are they?" I said, gulping in a bit too much air.

Mayu looked away, a distant expression on her face, "I am not to explain that to you until the day of our battle."

What's the worst that could happen? "Then I accept your challenge wholeheartedly. I don't intend on losing twice!" We shook our hands on that promise. Little did I know...

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The next week of my life was filled with normality, but also with brutal kendo training with Akihiko, Daisuke, Yoshikazu, Kenji, and even Granberia.

I held the kendo blade in my palms. My fingers were sweaty, stains on my sweater already, Kaz's spaghetti. Across from me, Mayu wielded her blade effortlessly, reminding me of what I was up against. Mayu had invited everyone to watch what Shizue proclaimed was "A Fated Battle Between Lifelong Rivals!"

Mayu pointed her blade at me, "The rules are set: first to three points wins. If you are disarmed or knocked down, your opponent scores a point. Do you agree to these terms?"

I rolled my eyes, "Already said I did. So the stakes are what, exactly? What happens to me if I lose?"

She didn't respond immediately, and the longer the silence grew, the more worried I became, "My parents taught me to find someone worthy of matching me. When I felt I had met someone who reached those lofty expectations, I was to duel them. If I win, you are indebted to become my husband and return with me to my home, forsaking the modern world and devoting your time to our traditions."

"What!?" Shinju shouted out, "If losing meant something like that, why didn't you forewarn him!?"

"It was against the rules, my parents taught. This is the one request they made of me, knowing I was venturing out into the modern world. If I agreed to it, they would accept any other future decisions I made," Mayu admitted, "It was my obligation to them."

Shinju seemed even more annoyed than usual, "Alright, I get it! Being kind to your parents, I can understand. But why'd you have to drag him into this!?"

Granberia spoke up, "And why do you care? Are his affairs not his own?"

"Hell no!" Shinju quickly rebuttaled, not giving any room for argument.

I thought about my situation for a moment. I wasn't one to break promises, "What happens if I win, then?"

Mayu chuckled, "If the impossible were to occur, that would mean my escape. You would take me away as your betrothed, and my parents would dedicate their shrine to some family that was more suited to tend and care for it."

I rubbed my nose, "So either way, I'm getting hitched?"

Mayu averted her gaze, a forlorn expression overtaking her, "I am sorry I was unable to warn you beforehand. I could not disobey my parents on this..."

"Well, what I take this to mean is that you like me. Otherwise, I'd not be worthy, yeah?" I reasoned, "If you just wanted a warrior, you could have challenged Aki, or Daisuke."

Shinju grumbled under her breath, something about a man whore.

Mayu blushed, but she confirmed my suspicions, "The reason does not matter! Whether I like you or not... I will admit to nothing until the duel has ended!"

Shizue, oblivious of the anger emanating from Shinju, waved the flag, "Round One! Begin!"

Mayu quickly made her way over to me. What did I do!? I didn't want to be forced into some old rituals! I jumped back and blocked her first strike. But take her from her parents? Marry her!? I'm too young to think of things like this! Too immature!

She struck another blow into my side, but I grinned and bore the wound. I swung out at her, forcing her to jump back, "Too easy..." She swung forward and sent me hurtling to the ground, unable to prevent her from bludgeoning my cheek.

"Point to Mayu!" Shizue happily announced.

Akihiko stood up in the crowd, "Come on, Shinji! What did we train for!?"

Koneko nodded, "You have the potential, Shinji. Do your best."

I quickly got back on my feet, unwilling to give up and lose, "Damn, if this isn't the worst decision I've made all day."

"Round Two! Begin!" Shizue waved the flag again. I struck first this time, intent on going with a more aggressive attack pattern. My friend told me, the one who strikes first usually loses. I hoped he was wrong.

He was never wrong. Mayu ducked under my blow and smashed her blade into my foot, the wood hitting my right foot so hard that I automatically stumbled forward, allowing her to strike me thrice more, knocking me to the ground like a rag doll.

"Point to Mayu, again!" Shizue was tense; wondering who would win or lose.

As I once again rose to my feet, Mayu mocked me, "Is this all you have in you? Surely someone this weak would stand no chance against the Grave Dangers. Or do you hold back because you're facing me?"

Granberia cheered me on, "Shinji, I know you're reluctant to fight back. But you have to! Not just for yourself, or for Shinju, or for your trainers, but for Mayu. She wants to see your conviction in action, not words! Prove to her your feelings!"

"Yeah, you manwhore," Shinju added, making me feel guilty for something I was clueless about.

Standing up, I pointed my blade at her, "You dare mock me in such a manner? You wish to see the rage that made me a slayer?" I swung my wooden blade around once, twice, "Then so be it."

Shizue waved the flag and announced the third round, but I didn't hear her. I had already launched myself forward. My friend would be wrong this time. I slammed my blade down, aiming right for hers. Mayu braced herself, and the sound that emanated from the mighty blow echoed out across the room. Not done!

I struck blow after blow, in a blind fury, an unending rage. She was able to keep up with my thrusts, blocking and evading, deflecting and dodging. She was quickly slipping up, unable to compete with my sheer frenzy. Seizing an opening, I pierced her defenses and brought my blade upwards, uppercutting her in the jaw. The intensity of the hit was so much she flew back onto the floor, slamming down hard on the tatami mat in a very embarrassing position.

"Ohohoh! Panty shot! Score!" Takumi commented, trying to get his camera out. Shinju ripped it out of his hands, "Hey! Come on!" Bad time to wear a skirt, Mayu. I sighed.

"Point to Shinji!" Shizue announced.

Mayu was excited now, and she got back to her feet in no time flat, "Amazing! There's the warrior spirit! Give me more! I wish to crush your spirit at its strongest!"

I was having deja vu. Didn't this happen last time, too?

I had calmed down by then, and I felt like I was screwed. Regardless, I thought up a plan on the spot. Please let all Fire Emblem games have taught me something about sword tricks and strategy!

As the fourth round was announced, I sped forward once more, putting all of my weight into a frontal strike. Mayu was grinning like a maniac, having anticipated such a brute force attack. As I swung directly for her legs, she jumped into the air, dodging my basic attack.

Jackpot. I quickly turned my blade and flung it back around, using all of my momentum to hook onto the back of her heel. I pulled forward as hard as I could, offsetting her balance and letting gravity do my job for me. As she once again fell back on the tatami mat, Shizue cheered, "Point to Shinji! It's a tie! This is so exciting!"

Mayu once again rose to her feet, giving me a dangerous glare, "So exciting! Thrilling! My body is quivering with anticipation!"

"Kinky..." Takumi whispered in the audience, earning a smack on the back of the head from Nari.

I stepped back, preparing myself for the final battle.

Mayu laughed, "So which will it be? Will you be the hero to sweep me off of my feet and take me away from my parents? Or will I crush you and take you as my loyal servant and husband!?"

"I might regret showing her Inuyasha, now... She's romanticizing this a bit too much!" I exclaimed, somewhat fearful of her transformation.

Shinju laughed at my displeasure, "That's what you get for awakening an Otaku demon! You only have yourself to blame... If she wins, you're her toy. If you win, she's your loyal princess."

Kenji cried to himself, "Tumblr will be so mad if it hears about this!"

"Tumblr is always mad!" Takeshi spoke up, not hurling obscenities for once.

"Then I have only one fate to forge... My own!" I brazenly revealed my intentions. As Shizue waved the flag, I waited.

Mayu, sensing my apprehension, slowly gained ground towards me, "Are you afraid? Then I will end this with all my power."

She jumped into the air and brought her blade down towards my head with all of her force. I knew what she was expecting. When I dodged, she would utilize her momentum to swing elsewhere, and if she hit my legs, I'd fall backwards due to leaping back. She was using my fear against me.

Realizing I had only one choice, I geared up, pulling my sword hand back. Instead of trying to dodge, however, I stayed still. Mayu's expression went from excitement to confusion as she noticed I was not retreating, nor compromising.

Due to her powerful momentum, she couldn't stop herself. Deciding instead to finish me in one strike, she further empowered the arc of her blade as it crashed into the side of my head. The sound of cracking wood slipped out, and my blood splattered onto the wooden blade and onto the mat below. Now!

I struck forward, blade in both hands, "Falchion! Strike!" I smashed the blade directly into her stomach with such vigor and force that she coughed up saliva, the air knocked out of her. She stumbled back, clutching her stomach in what looked to be agonizing pain, and as I gripped the side of my head, covering my hand in blood, we both hit the ground at the same time.

Shizue, surprised by this turn of events, waved her flag, "Points to both teams! A draw!"

"A draw!?" Akihiko was confused, but then it clicked, "Wait! This means he got out of losing and winning!"

"If they both win and lose, then neither result of the deal needs to be followed," Granberia followed up, "By ensuring they both went down, Shinji earned the one scenario where neither outcome was forced."

Shinju shook her head, "That sly bastard. Knew he'd find a way to weasel out of his commitments." Despite her insult, she looked pleased.

I sat up, clutching the side of my face. The pain was intense, and I cringed just by touching my wound.

Mayu struggled to stand, instead falling back to her knees, one hand on the floor as she steadied herself, "Why did you take... that blow?"

"We both know why. Had I jumped back, you would have won," I bluntly replied.

Mayu clutched her stomach, wincing, "Then why... Why did you settle on a draw!? I... I demand a rematch!"

I stood up, shaking my head, "Hell no! I agreed to your deal. And neither of us won! I have no need to rematch you. It's clear to me you'd have won that fight otherwise."

Mayu glared at me, meeting me at eye level, her red eyes piercing my very soul, "My family's promise-"

"Has been fulfilled," Koneko interrupted, "You did as asked, and Shinji honored that. With this outcome, you have both fulfilled your promises. I imagine he only agreed to battle you to try and force this outcome, since he assumed you'd win."

"So you only battled me to try and draw the fight? Why!?" Mayu was annoyed by my lack of desire to win.

I coughed, the pain seriously starting to incapacitate me, "Mayu... You're kind, smart, and quick on the draw. Your parents guilted you into that promise... If you want to run the shrine, do it. If you want to explore the modern world... Just do it! Don't let your dreams be dreams!"

Mayu was getting fired up, "What is that supposed to mean!?"

"I hated... both outcomes. Being forced to a shrine...? My own free will... dictates I can't be... so easily chained," I was barely able to choke out these words, "But winning... Meant taking your choice away... Chaining you to me... Winning would have been... selfish of me, to force... that on you."

"You went this far... So I'd be free to choose?" Mayu was confused, but as the dots began to connect, she realized where the lines had been drawn, "You..."

I passed out at this point, but from what I was told, Mayu and Shinju both escorted me to my cottage and watched over me for a long time.

I awoke, lying on my bed, noticing Mayu was sitting beside me, and Shinju was on the other side of the bed, slumped back in a chair and snoring lightly.

Mayu noticed I had awakened, and grabbed my hand, "Shinji!" she whispered to not disturb Shinju, "I am glad you are well."

"M-Mayu... Hey!" I winced as my aching head sent pain to my brain, "Why are... you still waiting here...?"

Mayu put her finger to my lips, "Just relax. We'll make sure you're fine."

I nodded, but before I closed my eyes, I asked, "You look like... You want to ask me something..."

Mayu reluctantly nodded, "Tomorrow night... Can you meet me outside the locker rooms?... I have something I must discuss with you..."

I laughed lightly, "Of course, Mayu... Just remind me when I wake up..." I fell back to sleep, content, knowing that Mayu and Shinju cared so much for my health.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Bloody Kendo Blade has been added to your Presents Menu! Congratulations!**

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

The next day, I was anxious. Mayu never showed up to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and even though I tried to distract myself by spending time with the others, I had a growing feeling of fear, a lump in my throat. Why would we meet at the lockers? What was the significance of that? This is what I pondered that fateful night as I walked towards the bath house, opening the door to the small gym area. The tatami mats had been washed of my blood, and Akihiko had resumed training Shinju and I here.

What surprised me was that someone was here; Yoshikazu.

"Yoshikazu, what's up?" I asked, trying to be as amicable as an exhausted Shinji could be.

Yoshikazu turned, and upon noticing me, smiled, "Ah, Mast...Shinji. I am waiting for Mistress Okishima to vacate the girl's locker room."

"What? Why?" I tilted my head in confusion.

Yoshikazu laughed, "Ah, right. Most people don't know. We set up the laundry system, and in doing so, Monotaro upgraded my e-handbook so I could enter the girl's locker room to empty the hampers. Clothes, used towels, and the like."

I must have come off as suspicious, "Monotaro trusts you that much?"

"The stipulation is that my handbook can only open the girl's locker room when it is vacant. If someone is registered as being inside, I can't open it. Monotaro is not foolish enough to hand me that kind of power. If Master Adachi were to run off with my handbook..." Yoshikazu made a snide remark at the end.

"So no peeking on them changing, yes? Since the sauna and locker room adjoining that are to the right before you hit the pool after the locker room, the girls likely just place everything in their locker room on the way out, making it easier for you to collect all of the clothes to be washed," I nodded, "I see, I see."

A small noise echoed out, an electronic beep, "Ah, yes, Miss Okishima must have exited on the other side."

I asked, "So you're certain it's her?" I was still worried about her previous absences.

Yoshikazu nodded, "Yes, when I arrived, she stopped me and requested that I wait for her to change properly. She also requested that I notify you to head left, not to the pool, but to the hot springs. That is where she intends to meet you."

The hot springs? Why did I suddenly have a really bad feeling...?

I thanked Yoshikazu for expending his time to update me, and I slid my handbook through the card. Heading into the locker room, I decided to change into my swimming trunks left in a locker conveniently placed for me, one for all of us.

Exiting on the other side, I turned left and headed down towards the small outdoor springs area. The springs seemed beautiful, and there were several rocks, one extremely large, situated in the water. I looked around, but saw no sign of Mayu. The bad feeling was growing ever worse, "Mayu!" I called out, somewhat frightened.

Mayu responded from afar, "I'm over here. In the springs." In the springs? Why is she awaiting me there? Was this a trap...?

Could she be planning to murder me? No, she would never do that. If she were to do something like that, she would challenge me openly, not using cheap tactics. Plus, allowing Yoshikazu to know anything about this would be a horrible call on her part.

Damn! Seriously, why am I doubting her!? After all we've been through? Paranoia is an alluring mistress.

Shaking such pitiful accusations out of my mind, I stepped down into the water and worked my way over to where her voice echoed from. When I found her, I realized how horrible the situation I had found myself in truly was. She was barely covering herself in a towel, leaning against the largest rock. Seeing her in the hot springs, I noticed how fair her long legs were, her shapely body unable to hide itself in that thin towel. I had to avert my gaze, so as not to stare like an idiot.

"Shinji, you came. I was beginning to worry you'd run away," Mayu chuckled, "It means a lot to me that you came. Asking to be alone during a killing game must seem suspicious..."

I laughed it off, "No worries, Mayu. You're a lot of things, but you're no coward. And even if you did kill me to escape, I could suffer a worse fate." Realizing I had dampened the mood, I added, "You wanted to discuss something with me, right?"

Mayu blushed, and she didn't look at my face directly, "Y-yes... I have been thinking about it for a long while. When we first met, you seemed like an odd young man. I had no idea what kind of people anyone here was, so I remained quiet and stayed in the background."

"Yeah, you were pretty quiet," I agreed, "No worries about that, though. You've opened up since then, and I know for a fact you've got some friends amongst us."

"You and Shinju tried very hard to incorporate me into the group, and I've noticed you do this indiscriminately," Mayu said, "At first, I felt as if you only did it out of a compulsive demand you placed on yourself," she hesitated, "But you... You have trained with Akihiko, battled with Daisuke, cosplayed with Shizue, and even tolerated Takumi's ruthless perversions and Takeshi's tongue lashings. You are trying to befriend everyone equally, and break down barriers regardless."

I scratched the back of my head, "I'm not a charity case. But I've never had a lot of friends, you know?" I was trying to find the right words, "Rarely spent time with anyone until I met... Someone special. So when I got here, I promised I'd make friends. Everyone here is widely different, in tastes, beliefs, attitude, hobbies, even morals. Someone might come off as a total asshole, but they're more than that. They're like that because of their parents, their environment. Take Takumi, for example."

"The man who lusts twenty-four hours a day," Mayu quoted something Shinju had said.

"Surprise, he takes after his older sister. He only acts like that around girls because he doesn't know better. He's always been shunned by dudes and the like, due to his modeling career," I pointed to my right temple, "Takeshi? Dude's talent is interesting. He's very justified in his paranoia, and he pushes others away to avoid getting betrayed. Even though they come off as horrible people, they aren't evil."

Mayu sighed, "That is the part of you I find such fascination with. Your understanding. You've befriended virtually everyone here. You roll with the insanity and the quirky natures of everyone here. You spend countless time thinking of stuff to share with others. Showing me Inuyasha was just another sign of how well you try to make others amused."

I shook my head, "Mayu, it's nothing special, alright? I just hated seeing any of us get isolated or ignored..."

She didn't respond, "And then when we fought... You could have turned me down, disregarded my request and my feelings. But instead, you accepted my challenge and went out of your way to relieve me of the biggest burden placed on my life," she smiled, thinking to herself, eyes closed and facing the ground, "To say that you have earned my respect is an understatement. I'd go so far as to say you have won my heart, as well."

"You...Wait...What!?" I was caught off guard by that reveal, "Y-you can't be s-serious!"

Mayu reached out and stroked my cheek, smiling as I turned into a shade of red much like a ripe tomato, "Do I seem the kind of person to joke about concerns of the heart?"

Well, she's got a point. Damn... "See, I don't understand why anybody would like a person like me," I was being honest, "I mean... I'm not very skilled at anything, more a fool of all trades. I'm overly emotional, quick to say stupid things, and I've even got a crap chute of a past... I just..."

She shot down my defense, "If you're so bad, then Jun would have been a fool, yes!?"

"Gh!?" That wasn't even fair.

"But the way you speak of her, when you rarely do, you speak with unbridled admiration," Mayu continued, "So if she's not a bad person or a stupid one, then certainly she must have seen something in you worth her time."

I couldn't refute her words without insulting the person dear to my heart, so I clammed up.

Mayu pulled me closer to her, hugging me, "Similarly, I see something in you worth my time, and I'm aware others feel this way. I may not be able to compare with them..." she stopped for a second, the usual fire in her eyes dimming slightly, "But my feelings are just as genuine. I do not care what you do, so long as I may have you to myself every once in a while..."

I stuttered, "Wha-what!? What kind of thing are you suggesting!?"

Mayu sat back on the edge of the rock, "I... I love you, Shinji. And I'd like to know your feelings towards me, as well."

Shit! Why does this keep happening!? What sick joke is Talos playing on me now!? I must pray to Naga I won't get stabbed to death over this, "Well, I, um..." The way she looked at me, I couldn't lie, "I... I really like you, Mayu. You're kind, serious, with surprising tastes. You're polite and physically impressive, beautiful and driven," I wanted to crawl into a hole and die, "Considering all the time we've spent together..."

Mayu nodded in understanding, "It is very hard for you to hide your feelings, isn't it?"

I slowly nodded, "It's problematic. You... Koneko, Granberia, Shinju, Shizue... Even Nari. How am I supposed to respond to any of you, or your feelings? And even if I could decide... I don't know if I could handle the consequences of falling in love, with any of you..."

Mayu noticed the change of tone, "Shinji..."

"Fall in love, here? What if you die? What if any of you die!?" I was terrified of that, "I don't think my heart could deal with more loss, like that..."

"Perhaps it is best that you practically have a harem here," Mayu joked, "Chances are, at least one person you love will make it out with you. And if we can stop Monotaro, we might all make it out of here." she stopped for a moment, poking me on the nose, "But time is short, and life is unpredictable. Is there something inherently evil with making memories you'll never forget? Is it wrong to be with the ones you love?"

"W-well... No. But this is real life! Not some fan service anime!" I couldn't accept that kind of reality, right? I shook my head, "I mean... I guess I really am a manwhore, huh... I just don't want to hurt anybody. Now my indecision has gotten me into a maze of relationships that I can't untangle."

Mayu clung to me and kissed my cheek, "Silly boy, " she stroked my cheek again, "Stop worrying so much. You're a romantic, and you can't lie about your feelings. So just be honest, and express yourself. We'll accept you for who you are... just like you accepted us."

Guess she was right when Shinju had labeled me a manwhore. So this was it, huh? I guess the girls must have gossiped about this kind of thing, but to think that even a single person could like me... I didn't know what the right thing to do was. I was young and foolish. I decided that the least I could do was be honest with myself, "You really do know what to say..." I kissed her on the lips, surprising her, but she quickly retaliated in kind, surprising me.

As we parted, she chuckled, "For this short time, you are mine..."

Wait, what? Before I could respond, her towel fell off of her...

Is it hot in these springs or is it just her?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Serene Mind". With Mayu's undying support, you have gained the ability to randomly avoid taking damage during Panic Talk Action and Hangman's Gambit.**

 **You have been awarded Mayu's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	7. Kenji's Free Time Events

_**Free Time Events with Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Reluctantly, I headed into the lounge, where a lone person was seated. I was frightened of Kenji, just a bit. He was loud, sometimes insulting, and far more eccentric than anyone else here. Usually, anyways.

"Kenji? You have any free time? I was hoping we could spend some time together." I asked, hoping not to provoke his wrath.

Kenji looked up at me, glaring, "Of course, traitor. I always have time to talk to the poor dogs leashed by their wives."

"Traitor?" I sat down, "I mean, I'm not the most honest person here, nor do I have the best memory, but I don't remember betraying anyone..."

Kenji scoffed, "Good god, you're so warped you don't even know how corrupted you've become!" he pointed at me, "So why are you here? Did that she-demon vixen Shinju send you on a mission? Reconnaissance? Trying to discover my weaknesses so she can end me, right!? I'm right, aren't I!?"

Um, what? "Well, she did want me to talk to you..."

"I knew it! And you admit to it! Such fearless audacity!?" he exclaimed.

I shook my head, "She wants to try and befriend everyone here. Form bonds and all. But you're notoriously hard to spend time with for members of the opposite sex."

"Of course! I refuse to be entrapped by their selfish whims and desires! I'm a free man!" Kenji seemed irritated, "Unlike you! A mere dog, howling at their beck and call! Everyone knows of you and your many masters!"

"I don't understand what you mean..." I honestly replied.

Kenji laughed maniacally, "Playing dumb, are we!? Shizue, Shinju, Mayu, Nari, Granberia, and even Koneko! All have signed demonic pacts with you, their slave and minion!"

What was that supposed to mean? "I mean, I spend time with them and all, but I haven't signed anything. Not in blood or ink. I've been trying to spend time with everyone here."

"Don't you see your connections with them are different!?" Kenji looked furious, "The way they look at you! The way they treat you! You are given special service as their familiar, and it sickens me that you would betray the guys and I to this demon force!"

"Demon force? They're just girls, Kenji..." I tried to get him to see reason.

Kenji disregarded my argument, "No, you fool! They are far from normal girls!" he got lost in his own world, "Their demon powers are unparalleled! I barely have enough magical prowess to endure their very presence! They are Ultimates! Schemers! The fact they have coordinated on you is my proof! It's a conspiracy!"

Uh-huh. "If these Ultimate girls are so dangerous, then why do you hang out with Hanako?"

"What!?" Kenji wasn't ready for me to point out his hypocrisy, "How dare you accuse me of succumbing to their wiles! I am extracting information from Hanako of their activities, you fool! Nothing more!" Was he blushing?

"Oh, I apologize, then. From what it looked like, I thought you liked her," I joked.

Kenji's eyes went wide, "You dare accuse me of betraying my comrades!?" he began pacing back and forth, "This is a trap she-devil must have set up... I could refuse and retreat now, but this stain on my honor shall not go unpunished!"

I must have looked annoyed, "Kenji, what are you on about?"

Kenji grabbed me and forced me to my feet, "Alright, then! You minion, you lackey! I will prove to you once and for all! The true machinations that lie beyond the veil!" he hesitated before pulling out a map of the resort, just like Yoshikazu's, though this one had more, ahem, eccentric labels and notes.

"Did Yoshikazu make you this...?" I quizzed him on the map's origins.

"Quiet, disciple!" he waved his hand in front of me, "Hanako informed me of a gathering. They intend to meet tomorrow night at the hot springs for a secret meeting! Certainly, they will be divulging reports on what they have observed of us! Attack plans, incursions made into our ranks. Once you see how they use you, plan to manipulate us, you will know the light!"

This was beginning to give me a headache, "Please tell me you don't intend to peek on them-"

"NO!" Kenji yelled, "This! Is! Recon! Nothing more! I am not some posh pervert like Takumi! I've had many chances to spy on them if I was! Hanako explicitly stated they were discussing content of much importance!"

"And you assume she was telling you the truth and not luring you into a trap because..." I decided to target his paranoia.

Kenji didn't respond very quickly, "Hanako... would never do that to me. She may be a member of such an evil organization, but she's not like them. I guess you could call us star-crossed lovers, doomed to have unrequited feelings for each other."

"Makin' a lot of assumptions, dude," I shot back.

Kenji put a finger to my lips, "Quiet yourself, disciple! It is better to let them think you a fool than open your mouth and remove their doubts."

I smirked, "Abe Lincoln quote?"

Kenji looked confused, "What? No. Mr. Mutou said it."

Who? "Fine, I'll join your mission. But no peeking, just listening in. Or I'll punish you myself."

Kenji nodded, "Of course, you fool! We must not be distracted from our breast! I mean, quest!"

As Kenji sped off, I questioned what I had gotten myself into THIS time.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

For one reason or another, I found myself seated next to Kenji, both of us sporting our swimming trunks and hiding on the other side of the large rock in the springs. Lord help us.

"Alright, we're in position! Now we wait!" Kenji was excited.

I was kind of terrified, "You know if we get caught, we're dead, right?"

A bunch of splashing and giggling soon rang out through the springs and we quieted ourselves and clung to the face of the rock. Tragically, we couldn't hear them well, so Kenji and I climbed up the side of the rock, staying prone so as not to get caught.

"Ca-caw!" Kenji called out. God dammit Kenji!

"What was that!?" Shizue exclaimed, frightened, "A raven? Crow?"

Shinju looked around, "Doesn't matter, so it's fine. The roof is open and there are birds around."

"So what do you wanna talk about, Shinju?" Emiko asked.

Nari responded, "Boys, probably."

"Ca-caw!" I shot back, signalling him that the information he had been given was technically accurate.

"Well, maybe..." Shinju teased, "I'm just curious where everybody's interests lie..."

Nari chuckled, "You just wanna find your rivals, hm?"

Kibou was the first to commit to an idea, "Maybe we can just list off the guys and go from there?"

Shinju nodded, "Nice idea. I can confirm that Yoshikazu and Daisuke don't swing our way. They have crushes on each other."

"Do either of them know?" Emiko asked, curious.

Shinju shook her head, "No, not until they get out of here, Daisuke said. I can honor that."

Kibou raised her hand, "Satoshi is mine, right? No one else wants Senpai, right?"

"Don't worry, he's kind of boring," Nari joked, "Not to say I dislike him but..."

"Takumi is a lecher, so we can rule him out, yes?" Koneko ruthlessly discarded his potential without a second thought.

Granberia nodded, "Takeshi is also too standoffish for our tastes."

Shinju agreed, "Yeah. Akihiko... He's cute and fit, but..."

Emiko blushed, "Shinji managed to get us to confess our crushes on each other, hahaha. I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier..."

"A regular matchmaker, hm? Satoshi and I, him and you... It's like he's spreading the love..." Kibou admitted.

Kenji smacked me, probably for getting our friends involved with girls.

Hanako was reluctant to speak, "I... I know he might be w-weird but... I like Kenji..."

Kenji gulped loudly, and as he listened in, leaning too far, he began sliding forward, unable to stop his descent into the hot spring waters.

Clutch! I grabbed his leg and quickly pulled him up, making my best effort to keep him quiet, "I swear to Naga..."

Kenji returned to his position, "Thanks, disciple."

"You owe me..." I responded dryly.

Shinju chuckled, "Well, that's cute. Who's left? Nico?"

No one spoke up until Shizue commented, "He has made it clear he refuses to harbor any relationships in this resort. Too many feels if they try to frame him for murder..."

"Oddly specific," Shinju retorted.

"And that leaves..." Nari spoke up.

"The manwhore..." Shinju grumbled, "That bastard who's playing and two-timing as hard as he can..."

Granberia shook her head, "He does not 'play' us. His feelings are genuine, confusing though they can be."

"Plus, he's been very kind to us all. It's no surprise people might like him," Koneko added, "Of all the people here, he's one of the few who puts up with us, talks to us."

Nari nodded in confirmation, "He's certainly more outgoing than some of the other guys, and he treats all of us equally. And he's not hideous, so..."

"Bastard!" Someone yelled out, and everyone turned. Takumi was in nothing but a towel, clutching his fist in a rage. He didn't notice that he had shouted out, but it was too late.

"Ca-caw!" Kenji and I called out as Takumi rested in peace, receiving a beating from all of the girls save Hanako.

Beaten and bruised, Takumi fled, crying, and Kenji and I were laughing to ourselves. Until the fire nation attacked.

Shinju laughed as he fled, "That bastard..."

"You think he brought back up?" Emiko asked, somewhat concerned.

Shinju walked into the middle of the spring, followed by everyone else, "Yo, bitches! Show yourselves and we might let you live!"

"Meow!" I responded, hoping against all hope that they might take the bait and assume I was the kitten who had wandered in here.

Kenji gave me the thumbs up and meowed with me.

"What? Is that an animal!?" Emiko sounded confused. "Is that what the fox says?"

I yelled out, "It's a cat, dammit!"

As I said that, Kenji immediately shouted back to me, "Yolo!" He jumped off of the rock and fled towards the door. I quickly followed suit, and we slipped past the girls on the side.

The door, gotta get to the door. Just get through the door, and... Aw, fuck. I tripped over Kenji, who was running too close to me, landing right in front of an incredibly angered group of girls. Looking around, I noticed a large fan in the background, and I knew what I must do.

"Alright... Time to make you learn some respect!" Shinju exclaimed, and Nari gave us an evil look, all of them smirking, preparing to murder us.

"Kenji, run!" I jumped back and hit the fan on. Placed here likely to cool off people who passed out in the waters and to air the place out, I turned it on and switched it to full power. The intense wind created by the fan quickly swept through the springs, knocking the towels off of the girls.

As they all screamed and tried to cover themselves up, Kenji and I jumped around them and fled. Out the door, down the hallway, towards the boy's locker room.

"Wait, our handbooks!" I turned back and grabbed both of them, but I slipped and fell. Noticing how close the girls had come, I slid them across the hall, "Kenji, run! Run you bastard!"

Kenji saluted me, "Goodbye, my disciple! I will honor your memory!"

Kenji quickly used his handbook to open the door and fled into the locker room, leaving me to my fate.

The girls rounded the corner and grouped up, "Shinji, Shinji, Shinji..." Nari fiercely glared at me.

Koneko sighed, "I am sorry we must now execute you..."

I was cringing, sliding back against the wall, "Have...have m-mercy... Kenji's idea..."

Granberia gave me a disappointed look, "I'll try not to rupture your internal organs..."

Mayu pulled out her kendo blade. It had been leaning on the side wall, and I assume she must have anticipated Takumi being an idiot somehow. She was giving me a dangerous look, "Looks like it's... puuuunishment time."

Bad End!?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Inside the library, I was curled up in a ball deep in the far back of the place, hiding behind a bean bag chair. The pain, the terror, the nightmares...

"Dude?" As someone spoke to me, I screamed in horror. Please, no! Please!

I fell back and scrunched up against the wall, "...Noooooo... I learned m-my lesson. P-please...!"

Kenji grabbed me and snapped me out of my stupor, "Shinji! Shinji, come back to me! Get a hold of yourself, soldier!"

"Kenji!? What are you doing here!?" I shot back, reluctant to be too loud lest the girls unleash more of their wrath upon me.

Kenji crouched, looking me in the eyes, "Listen to me, soldier," he hesitated, "You made a glorious sacrifice in honor of your brethren, and you have redeemed yourself in my eyes. You are a shadow operative, working amongst their ranks to spare us their wrath."

I smacked Kenji lightly in the cheek, "Shut it with that! There is no conspiracy!" I sighed, "I... The things they did to me... Stop with this fantasy world bullshit!"

Kenji laughed, "Ah, fine, fine, fine. I get it. I played around a bit too much, and I got us into real trouble," he frowned, "I always do this. My last friend got quite fed up with me at times..."

"You had friends?" I joked at his expense, "I don't mind hanging out with you, but no more shenanigans like this again, okay?"

"Hehe! Yeah, maybe. Although I have some interesting info you might want the deetz on," Kenji snickered, "I snooped and overheard some juicy stuff. Turns out the girls you've affiliated with are discussing something important, you know..."

"No! Absolutely not! Fuck that!" I didn't even give him a chance to suggest something so horrible, "Never. Again."

Kenji nodded, "Figured you'd say that. Then let me make amends. Tonight we'll invite our bros and have our own meeting!"

"A bro meeting? Is that a good idea?" I asked, suspicious of him.

Kenji laughed, "Yeah, it's great! That way, we can defend ourselves if the girls try something funny as revenge."

I sighed, unable to refuse his pleading looks, "Kenji... Ugh, fine."

Kenji grinned, "Great, you invite everybody!"

"What!?" Was he using me?

Kenji scratched his nose, "Alright, look. If I invited them, they'd flat out refuse me," he chuckled, "You want us to bond better? This will be a grand move. If you're my ally on this, they might... They might accept me, you know?"

Did Kenji really trust me that much? Then again, I did save his life, "Alright, fine. Just for you."

We shook hands, uniting ourselves in the bonds of camaraderie.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Convincing Daisuke and Akihiko to go was easy enough. Daisuke owed me for an earlier sauna incident, and Akihiko was fine with meeting up with the guys. Yoshikazu reluctantly agreed, so long as I helped him finish the laundry he was always assigned to.

Nico almost refused, but when I teased him about lacking enough courage to join this venture, he got irritated and hastily agreed. Satoshi ecstatically agreed, though he wanted to have some modicum of censorship over the topics discussed.

Takumi refused when I approached him, "Hell no, bro! I blame you for me gettin' my ass beat!"

I shrugged, "Okay, fine. I may have seen some undressed people in those springs, maybe have some idea where the girls stand. Shame you don't care about that, though..."

He glared at me, "See, I know you're playing me, but I'll still agree."

Takeshi tried to hide from me, but after wearing down his defenses, he reluctantly agreed, so long as I shut my "nagging whore mouth".

So that was how Kenji's official meeting of rad Bromances began in the hot springs, the nine of us in our swimsuit trunks, excluding Takumi and Akihiko, who wore really awkward speedos.

Kenji lead the meeting, sounding auspicious, "Greetings, my fellow brethren! Thanks to my friend's sacrifice and our swift response to our ruined subterfuge mission, we have acquired invaluable information regarding the girls amongst us!"

Takeshi groaned, "Fuckin' A. Knew this would be some bullshit. Something only a retard like Kenji could dream up..."

Kenji smirked, "And this is why none of the girls find your limp dick attractive. They prefer their boyfriends not to consist mainly of Sodium Chloride."

"The fuck?" Takeshi seemed confused.

Akihiko joked, "Of all the flavors, you chose to be salty..."

Takeshi rolled his eyes and flipped us all the bird.

Takumi frowned, "Yeah, well, none of 'em dig me. If only my powers worked! I'll lose my virginity at this resort, I swear to you all!"

I shook my head, "Takumi, man, you're smarter than that. Why the obsession?"

Takumi awkwardly laughed, "Awkward? Me? Uh, no! I'm just perfectly fine, bro! Come on, this is me! All the way!"

Instead of addressing Takumi's weirdness, Daisuke moved forward, "Please tell me this entire meeting isn't about what you perverts overheard from the girl's meeting?"

Kenji sighed, "Well, that's part of it. More so, I just wanted to apologize. I get that I'm a bit weird, take my jokes too far. Never worried about it till I got Shinji here pummeled."

Yoshikazu made an observation, "Before, only you paid for your crimes in instigating their fury."

"Then Shinji sacrificed himself so I could escape... And those girls were ruthless to him..." Kenji chuckled, "I haven't had friends in a long time, you know? My last one? We got drunk. Drank whiskey, had a good time. Then he fell off of the school roof and fuckin' died."

I had not expected him to admit that, "Kenji..."

"That took a dark turn," Nico commented, "So do you act all weird..."

Kenji laughed, "What? You think I make people fear me!? Perish the thought! What happens to lowly mortals doesn't bother me..." he hesitated, "It's only when I befriend them that I feel such pain..."

Takumi nodded, "Ah, I get it. You blame yourself, right? Bet hanging on the roof was your plan, huh?"

Takumi's observation caught all of us, especially Kenji, off guard, "Heh... Yeah, something like that," Kenji admitted.

Takeshi spoke up, ruining the mood, "So are you gonna be normal now? Or what? 'Cause I've got shit to do..."

"Now that formalities are out of the way..." Kenji replied, "Now we can gossip! Why not, right?"

And that was when the conversation devolved into discussing what girls we liked or hated. Kenji defended the topic as better understanding the relationships between us, but he also asked some particularly dirty questions.

He barely noticed me slip out, leaving them to their own fate.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

Kenji nagged me into meeting him at the second floor of the library. When I got there, he was wearing a monocle, and he had a small smoking pipe in his hands, though it was merely a replica. When he noticed me, he blew into it, and bubbles came out. Really?

I seated myself in the nearest chair, "What do you need, Kenji?"

"I noticed your little escape from our meeting earlier," he commented, a grim expression, "You managed to get off without giving us all the gritty details."

I began sweating, "Oh, uh, yeah... I didn't feel well. The beating took a toll on my health..." It actually had, but Kenji still glared at me.

Kenji sighed after staring at me for a while, "Regardless, we managed to hit it off. My remaining time here will not be so lonely... Now if I can just get the courage to ask Hanako out..."

"What?" I asked, jokingly.

Kenji laughed, loudly, trying to drown me out, "Alright, since you betrayed the bro code! Everyone knows if you pick more than one waifu, it ends your laifu! So, you have to confess to what we all did tonight at the hot springs!"

I began sweating again, "Do I have to..." The look he gave me answered my question, "...Fine."

That night, I entered the hot springs for the third time, in my blue trunks that had a purple unicorn etched into it. Cute.

Before I could react, Kenji (I assume) jumped me, and I passed out before I could scream.

Waking up... I hit my head against a really hard surface and yelped out in pain. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked around and noticed I was still in the hot springs. I felt a piece of paper balled up in my right hand, and I opened it up, "Dear Shinji... For your many actions of wooing the ladies, you have made great sacrifices for the rest of us guys here. I salute your heroism and leave you the springs for your own enjoyment. Signed, The Fire God."

"Bastard knocked me out..." I grumbled to myself, throwing the paper into the water, now annoyed.

I held my aching head as I walked around the rock, only to be greeted by an unwelcome sight. Shizue, Mayu, Nari, Shinju, Koneko, and Granberia all looked over to me, wearing nothing but their towels once more.

I learned in that moment the exact second when your heart stops and you embrace the sweet, cold touch of death.

"Again!?" Shinju yelled, "You really want to die, huh!?"

Granberia pointed out, "Isn't this odd, though? Why would he just reveal himself? We hadn't yet spoken of anything important."

Koneko nodded, "Yoshikazu noticed him headed here earlier. Maybe he was just enjoying the springs..."

Shinju shook her head, "Then he should have spoken up when we asked if anyone was here."

Mayu turned to me, reaching for her kendo blade already, "So, any defense?"

Kenji didn't do this on purpose so... That's when it hit me. He said he had gathered data on a meeting of the girls affiliated with me. If he meant these six, that means he knew about this meeting. Which means...Which means...WHICH MEANS...

Kenji's voice whispered into my ear, probably an illusion born out of my fear of death, "He left you here as punishment..."

"You fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-" I screamed out in rage, the most bloodcurdling and angry noise that had ever emptied my throat that I could recall.

 **Kenji's POV**

With Takumi and Daisuke, the three of us were laughing it up at the cafe lounge, "So I left him in there to his fate!"

Daisuke chuckled, "Hah! Bro gets to suffer for hurting Shinju's feelings and I didn't even have to kick his ass. Nice!"

Takumi contemplated something for a moment, "Kenji, you're smart. First you helped Shinju and I plan out our trick on him, and now..."

I quickly motioned for Takumi to be quiet, "We never discuss that! Shut your damn mouth!"

That's when they heard a scream from out in the distance, a bloodcurdling one, "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"

 **Shinji's POV**

Once again, I found myself, back against the wall, facing my demise, "J...Screw it. Kill me. Whatever."

"Awe, that's no fun..." Nari sinisterly grinned at me, "I like it when they try to run..."

"Kenji screwed me... Again! Just kill me! I'm sick of being his joke!" I clenched my fist and punched the tile wall, "I suppose... I deserve this."

Shinju halted the others, "Wait, I've got an idea. Considering what we were discussing... This is the perfect time to enact our plan..."

Granberia seemed forlorn, "Goodbye, Shinji... I will miss you."

Bad End!?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Daystar". Your comradeship with Kenji allows you the ability to unleash a brutal counterattack once in Panic Talk Action upon taking damage from a statement.**

 **You have been awarded Kenji's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	8. Koneko's Free Time Events

_**Free Time Events with Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Panterbell, the Ultimate Kitten :3**

 **Free Time Events 1#**

Koneko was rather amused by my upbeat nature when I asked to spend time with her at the park, petting the adorable, fluffy kitten. Despite her possible inhibitions, she now sat next to me on the park bench, placating the young fuzzy beast demanding our affection. "You almost seem like a different person around animals..." Koneko commented.

Continuing to stroke the kitten's back, I chuckled, "Really? I thought I was always this charming..." I patted his head, "Silly Panterbell. With kittens, you have to... Well, what am I doing, telling the Ultimate Tamer how to treat an animal?"

Koneko nodded, her cat ears fluttering briefly, "Especially a Frankenstein one like me."

"Relax. No one minds your cat ears," I swiftly replied, "If anything, they only make you easier to get along with. And we don't judge here, we're a lost cause."

She didn't seem to like that answer, "There is no need to patronize me, Shinji. I understand how odd I must seem to all of you."

Setting the kitten down onto the ground, where he began frolicking in the nearby dandelions, I replied, "Such a cutie..." I sat on the park bench next to Koneko, "The cat's cute, too," I high fived myself in my mind for such a killer line, "Has a single person here actually negatively commented on your cat ears? None, right? Not even Takeshi, and he's renowned for that."

Takeshi, who had been walking by, must have overheard me, "Fuck you!" He then walked off at a faster pace.

Koneko looked away, listlessly staring at the happy kitten, "That is because everyone here wasn't raised by wolves. They have some modicum of respect not to make jests towards the wild animal amongst them..."

I put my hand on Koneko's shoulder, and she almost threw me off by instinct, "Now you're just being a dullard," I wiped my hair out of my face, "We like you for you, Koneko. You're quiet and you don't waste words. You tend to Panterbell, and you don't cause trouble or start fights. We like you for you, regardless of what accessories you may have..."

Koneko shrugged me off, but I noticed a small smile break out, "Shinju's right, you are a dork."

I straightened my collar, "That's Lord Dork to you. Lord of D, they call me."

"So you like the D?" Koneko turned my words against me.

As my eyes widened in surprise, I gasped, "Where did you hear that phrase? ...Shinju!"

Koneko laughed at my over exaggerated motions, "You really know how to make people let loose, hm?" She stopped talking for a moment, "You remind me of my brother a bit..."

I pondered, "Your brother, huh? Sounds nice. I'm an only child, so I wouldn't know what that'd be like."

"Sometimes it can be very grating, but... He is certainly kind and noble at times, when he needs to. And other times he can be a total ass," Koneko bluntly replied.

"He could be my twin," I joked, "So he's the Ultimate DNA Manipulator, yeah? Did he give you those cat ears?"

Koneko went quiet for a moment, "It's a long story. I nagged him a bunch as a younger child, so he caved in. Of course, not everything about it is as I desired..."

"What do you mean by that?" I was curious now.

Koneko shook her head, "It does not matter. Eventually, my brother went to Hope's Peak. I was a loner in my classes, but my parents encouraged me to make friends. I refused for a while, but when I saw Gundham tending to the nearby wild animals during lunch break..."

I glanced at the kitten, "The Ultimate Breeder, yeah? He's a pretty awesome guy, from the stories I've heard. Then again, anyone who loves animals is cool in my book."

Koneko nodded in agreement, "I agree. Perhaps this is why I do not mind spending so much time with you..."

I blushed as she said that, "Oh, uh, maybe? I'm not that interesting, so..."

Koneko chuckled once more, "Maaaaybe... It is getting late, we should head back to get dinner."

I nodded, "Sure thing. Let's go. See you later, Panterbell!" The kitten meowed in response.

As we walked back, I struck up another conversation, "You said you met Mayu before, right? She said you tended to her local shrine fox, Tamamo."

"Why yes. She is an adorable darling, I must say. Loves fried tofu for some odd reason," She sounded distracted.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

Every day, Koneko and I had gone to tend to Panterbell's needs, while also getting him acclimated to spending time with humans. From what Koneko could discern, he must have been exposed to people before, though we couldn't actually determine what experiences that must have been like.

I had an aching fear that the kitten's parents had died on this island in its youth and it was left to its own devices. How it managed to survive until we found it, I had no clue. Perhaps it had something to do with our missing memories?

Considering how odd his presence on this island was, I assumed we may have been brought with him. It also didn't make sense for Monotaro to bring him, but the inner workings of that tiger's mind were all but an enigma to the rest of us.

This day, however, I found myself snuggling the adorable Panterbell alone. Koneko mentioned needing to tend to personal issues, and I quickly agreed to leave it be. That time of the month? I dunno.

Since I had never fully explored the park, I decided to have Panterbell ride on my shoulder, claws deep into my hoodie and almost piercing my flesh as he gripped onto me for his dear life. Naturally, I had one hand on him, to catch him if he slid back, as I walked around the park.

The park was surprisingly spacious, more so than we expected, a total of six or so rows of trees in the small field. With Panterbell at my side, loyal furball he was, I walked towards the deepest area, finding an even smaller clearing in front of the mountain.

"If only we could climb this..." I said aloud to myself, "We could determine if we were on an island or not... The documents in the library told me the name of this resort; Hanikureia, but nothing about its location..." I placed my hand forward on the mountain and did the thing no one would have ever expected. I fell through it!?

The area I touched was actually a cover of some sort, as I found myself pushing it open like a light door and falling forward into its depths. Snatching Panterbell up to keep him safe, I landed on my back on dirt floor. What the hell?

Quickly rising to my feet, I dusted myself off and looked around, "What the...?" The door was painted to look like the mountain side, obviously to obscure this area's existence, but why?

As if to answer my questions, Monotaro popped up, "Hoho! Need some information?" He ignored my scream of terror, "You must be pleased to see me, right?"

"Not particularly," I dryly rebuked him, "Secret entrance? Why?"

Monotaro laughed like a hyena, "Upupupu! Ah, yes! See, this little cave system here leads to a forest labyrinth! The original owner of this mountain, a master of ninja arts... Kakashi something or whatever... He sculpted hedges and trees to make a nature labyrinth! Exciting, right!?"

"So then why the hidden door?"

The evil tiger merely shrugged, "Well, I figured I can't put cameras in there and disturb the natural habitat, you know!? And since you students might get up to shenanigans in there... Especially you... I blocked it off! I don't mind people entering here, since they've done no harm, but it's best if you don't snitch this to everyone else!"

Wait a minute... "I'll agree to your terms so long as I can visit, alright?" Monotaro nodded, "That was too easy... And what do you mean, 'they've' done no harm? Someone else found this place first?"

Monotaro laughed sinisterly, "Ohoho! You noticed that little slip of the tongue, eh? Better watch what I say around you, huh?"

I shook my head in annoyance, "Just answer me, Monotaro!"

Monotaro blushed and stood up on his tiptoes, "Oh, I love the strong, in charge kind of guys... My heart is melting in anticipation!" Why did I have to be subjected to this...? "There is one other student who discovered this secret already, but I won't tell you. You'd just have to find them!"

I shrugged and sat Panterbell down back in the park, "Go play, you slorish little kitten," Shooing him away, I closed the door behind me, "Challenge accepted."

Walking past Monotaro, I noticed sunlight shining on the other end of the cave, though I couldn't see anything else due to the curve in the walkway, "Just so you know, you might get murdered!"

I stopped instantly, "What?"

Monotaro chuckled, "Just a warning! Don't mind me! Do what you feel is right!"

With that cryptic warning, I exited out on the other side, looking around. This was literally a dream for some people. A utopia of trees that spanned for what looked like forever, "The whole area is thirteen square kilometers! Try not to get lost!" Monotaro gave me his last bit of advice before disappearing as he was wont to do.

Someone's hanging out here? Who? _In hindsight, had I just read the chapter name, I could have figured that out instantly._

A surge of blinding pain hit my forehead, probably cosmic punishment for smart mouthing and destroying the fourth wall.

Shaking off the fading pain, I entered the maze, calmly walking down the rows of trees. Every tree was nearly perfectly in sync, though years of being left untended meant that there were now grievances in the original idea. Trees of all kinds; coniferous and deciduous, from Redwoods to palm trees, filled my view. Looking around for some kind of indicator of life, I searched the ground and found my clue. Footprints.

That proved there _was_ someone here, as Monotaro would be unable to fake that. Probably. Determined to solve the mystery, I ventured forth into the woods. If what Monotaro had said was true, whoever might be here could be in danger. Or worse; planning a murder.

Before I could take one step, I heard his voice one last time, "And remember! The cave door will keep you safe! No lollygagging!"

"I'll try not to take anything to my knees, then," I quipped, countering his reference with my own. If I did run into trouble or maybe even double, it'd be nice to just shout them away, though...

Step by step, foot by foot, meter by meter, I wandered deeper into this deadly maze. I came across nothing for a while, and every second I grew more tense, waiting for some kind of surprise.

Just when the music playing in my mind reached its crescendo, I saw it. A fancy wooden bench, with very elaborate armrests curling back, and atop it lay a pair of shoes. Black sneakers, plain and made of leather... I couldn't tell who wore them, simply because shoes aren't a defining feature of people, in all honesty. Not for people without odd foot obsessions, at the very least...

I walked up and inspected them. The socks were your standard white ones, stuffed into each shoe. What made me worry was the footprints ended here. Whoever had been walking these dirt trails, dampened by the morning rain, had instead fled off into the forest, if I had to guess.

Gathering my courage, I stepped up onto the grassy area and slowly crept into the forest maze itself. The trees were beautiful up close, and I mindlessly stroked a tree, oak, perhaps a boy or a girl, feeling how surprisingly tough it felt. These trees were weathered, and there were even claw marks on them. Wait, what...?

The claw marks were recent from what I could tell, made after the rain. I could tell because the bark under the scratches wasn't wet. At this discovery, my body went rigid. There was a wild animal or something in these woods, and whoever was in here was alone with it! What the hell do I do!?

Investigate

Wait here

Be an ass and leave

Making the obvious choice, I ran into the thick foliage, calling out for someone. Further and further I made my way into the woods, following the scratch marks and praying for the safety of whomever was being chased by this mystery creature.

It can't be Koneko, right? She would have just tamed the beast. Plus, she said she would be holed up in her cottage all day.

Then who? No one particularly avoided the park, but who would have discovered this and kept it hidden...? Kenji might have been making this his base of operations. Perhaps Shinju found it by accident like I did? Bah! I don't know!

My answer presented itself. I found who I was looking for. And as I expected, I also found the beast in the same moment...

What I didn't predict, however, was that they were one and the same.

A girl was in the woods, her hand in tree bark. Rather, her claws were, scraping against the wood. Her orange and black cat ears were lowered on her head, and her tail swung back and forth as if hunting prey. Her clothes looked torn, with gashes in them. Her sleeves had been torn off, and fur had grown on her arms, from the elbow down. Orange and black limbs clawed away at the tree in a rage.

Dear lord... Was this...? "Koneko...?"

Upon hearing my voice, the creature formerly known as Koneko jumped away from me, turning to face me. Her eyes were now that of a cat's, more like a green marble with a black iris in the middle. Her teeth were thankfully not changed, except for her elongated fangs. They seem to still be able to fit in her mouth easily, which may have explained why I never noticed.

I continued, "Is...that you?"

Instead of answering, she charged me and swung. Ducking just in time, her clawed hand pierced the air just above me, and I could barely contain my fear.

"What the!? Koneko!?" I screamed, "What are you do-" I was cut off as her sharp claws found their way into my chest, clawing straight through my hoodie, shirt, and skin like tissue paper. I jumped back. The cut was merely a flesh wound, but any deeper and I might have died.

The beast snarled at me, crouching and preparing to attack me once more. Cursing my luck for these kinds of situations, I ran towards her. She stepped back, as I expected, and I ran past her, fleeing for my life.

I know that running from predators makes them want to chase you even more, and especially cats, but standing around that tiger girl was _not_ an option!

Fleeing at full speed, I tore a path out of the woods, tripping into the park bench. Falling head first over it, I tumbled to the dirt path. Quickly moving along, I struggled to my feet while setting off at full speed once more. The beast chased me, and it cleared the bench in one graceful jump.

On all fours, she bounded after me at full speed. Had I not been in full gear, she'd have hunted me down before. Unluckily for me, I was _too slow_.

Like a blue hedgehog, she outraced me and sent her claws into my back, once again tearing through with ease like I was made of butter. Turning into butter? _That would suck..._ Falling to the ground from the sheer strength of that hit, I turned around as I shot to my feet. The cave was just behind me.

"Koneko!" The stinging pain of my cuts was getting to me, and I wasn't getting through to her, so I turned and continued running.

Passing the turn in the cave by sliding off of the rock wall, I ran as swiftly as a coursing river, flinging the door open with the force of a great typhoon, using the strength of a raging fire inside of me, mysterious as the dark side of the moon. I slammed the door behind me and slumped to the ground, breathing quite heavily.

Monotaro chuckled as he emerged from behind a nearby tree, "Awe, you survived! Damn... Thought I had my first trial set up! I know I gave you a month reprieve, but I wouldn't pass up a free trial like that!"

I felt my chest, still wet with my own blood, "You knew about this...?"

Laughing even harder, he finally responded, "Of course! Her brother Kenta got sick of her nagging, and gave her tiger DNA! She got the ears and tail she so desired, but every few days or so she goes feral, having to close herself off from others! What a curse to have! Kenta was so good at inducing despair...!"

"And she can never control it...?" I asked.

He merely shrugged, "According to the files Kenta left at Hope's Peak, she can be tamed! Only problem is, she can't tame herself! Isn't it just delightfully despairing!? To be the best Tamer in the world, but unable to tame yourself!?"

I thought for a moment before I dignified him with my reply, "A verifiable hellcat... Maybe I can..."

"Go ahead and try! Ask her when she comes out! Maybe you can tame that wild beast! And if you die trying...! Upupupu!" Monotaro quickly disappeared, having said his piece.

Hours passed as I awaited Koneko's return, hoping she would come back to us safely.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and she peeked her head out, looking for anyone nearby. When she least expected, I stepped out behind a tree, "Hey girl, what's cracking? Helicopter, helicopter!?"

She shrieked in surprise, "Shinji!? What are you doing here!?"

Instead of telling her, I walked forward, exposing my bloodied chest, having long since dried.

Koneko's eyes went wide, and she immediately rushed out towards me, her black coat back on her and covering her arms, "You're hurt! How did..." She trailed off as she realized what kind of wound had been inflicted on me, "If you... You know about the..."

I folded and crossed my arms on my chest, "Yes?"

Koneko stared at the ground, nearly in tears by the sound of her now shaking voice, "Did you go into the labyrinth? Did I... do this to you?"

"What, this?" I motioned to my cuts, "Possibly... Monotaro may have also mentioned what your brother Kenta did to you, as well... Now I understand a lot."

She quickly denied my comment, "You don't understand anything! I told you to leave it alone! I wanted to be in solitude! And you ruined it!" She was yelling now, taking all her anger and confusion out on me.

"I didn't know..." I tried to defend myself.

"Of course you didn't! Why would I tell the boy I like that I'm a feral beast!?" I opened my mouth as she said that, but she instantly realized what she had said, "Uhm! I mean... Oh, god damn it!"

I was tempted to tease her, but I resisted, "Koneko, I get it. I know why you were so concerned now, about the ears. I imagine due to this transformation you have... Your Werecat nature meant you had to push people away to stay safe, right? So you stay quiet and avoid watchful eyes, hm?"

Koneko huffed for a moment, "Well, who died and taught you advanced psychology...?"

I ruffled my hair, "First lesson! Correlations always mean causality, every time!" I snickered at my own joke for a brief moment, "I took the stuff in school. Sue me. Not like a romantic would desire to understand the inner workings of the human mind and heart or anything..."

She sighed, "Fine," she didn't look at me, purposefully avoiding my gaze at all cost, "You better hurry..."

"What?"

"I mean, you intend to tell everyone, yeah?" Koneko had a very grim expression on her face, as if the life in her had been snuffed out, "I'm dangerous, you know? A threat. Look what I did to you... If this keeps up..." she moved her coat to reveal her fur-covered arms, "I might end up killin' someone."

I waved my hand, "Shove off with that. Monotaro said we can tame that wild side, eh?"

She tensed up at this, "He did...?"

"Your brother left some notes at the Academy. Monotaro just dug them up," I answered, "So is it true? Did he even tell you about it...?"

She continued glancing away from me, "Well, yes, he did."

I nodded, "Perfect. Tomorrow, you let me know what I gotta do, and then the next time your wild side starts coming out, we'll try it."

"Shinji... Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you what it requires... You won't end up doing it..." she solemnly admitted, "Let's get you patched up before you bleed out..."

"Oh, right... My cuts..." I laughed, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment at having forgotten to get treatment.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Koneko and I met up in her cottage the next day to further discuss the prior day's events. I had been bandaged up thanks to Yoshikazu, though Shinju had grilled me hard for a proper explanation.

I had joked about a tree branch, shaped like a sword, that would pierce the heavens (and consequently, my body). She didn't buy it.

Somehow I managed to give her an answer that satiated her ruthless questioning, and I then snuck over to Koneko's cottage to talk with her in secret.

Her room was neat and organized, and she was in her bathroom, shaving the fur off presumably. And normal people complained about having to shave? Hah.

She had an animal calendar, though the current day was unknown. She had noticeably more bedsheets than the rest of us. She also had scores of clothes that were inefficient for hiding her entire limbs, though she always wore that black cloak over them.

Eventually, she exited her bathroom, wearing a white sleeveless shirt, her arms freshly cleared. Her shorts were perfect for summer, a nice shade of dark blue.

She sat down on her bed, facing me. I was on the floor, legs crossed in a meditative pose, mostly out of habit, "Would you like anything...?" She asked, and she was fidgeting a lot.

I answered with a shake of the head, "No, thank you. I'm fine. I'm more concerned with you..." I stopped for a moment, "You seem flustered."

Koneko blushed as I pointed this out, "Well, it's the first time I've invited a guy to my room, you know? I mean, not that you're here to have an affair with me..."

"Unless you want to," I joked.

Koneko gave me another surprised look as her cheeks turned red, "Well... I mean..." her eyes widened, "Oh, it was a joke!"

I nodded, "Of course it was. Didja take that seriously?" I put my hand to my chin, giving her a sly grin.

Koneko quickly waved her hands in front of her, "That's not important! We need to discuss the taming thing, right!?" Gods, but she's cute when she freaks out.

"Yes, I suppose that is our business now. You're not going to be able to let loose and kick back until you know you're not going to bite into the rest of our frontal lobes, right?"

She didn't get my joke, and instead frowned, "Basically... Kenta was an ass, but he gave me some information. He said I could control my inner wild side if I had a saviour, or companion so to say. If someone were to be able to tap into my human side while I was wild..."

I must have looked confused, "I'm not following..."

"When I go berserk, someone has to remind me that I'm still partly human. If you could break the mental barrier that cages the real me inside, and meld the two together..." She simplified it for me.

I cracked my knuckles, "So I just need to use the power of a friendship cannon to remind you of your human side when you go wild? Sounds easy enough..."

Koneko sighed, "Except I have no idea how to do that. All Kenta said was that the right person to come along would figure it out. And some other stuff, but that has nothing to do with this."

"I'll just wing it..." I quickly decided.

She stood up and walked away from me, "You idiot! If you do that... I might kill you. You'd be putting your life in danger! I can't let you do that..."

I laughed boisterously, "Do you not remember? I allowed Mayu to club me in the head just to tie that kendo match! If you need to be freed of this, this curse of Kenta's, I'll do it! No one else should have to risk themselves, and I'm willing to do it for you!"

"I don't want you to!" Koneko caught me off guard, "What if I hurt you...? I could never live with myself if I killed you..."

I walked over to her and grabbed her hands, holding them tightly, "And you can't live with anybody if you don't resolve this, right? I know the danger, Koneko. I've experienced it firsthand. But if risking myself means helping you, I'm more than ready."

Koneko teared up, "Shinji, don't you get it!? You'll die!" I was about to respond, but she continued, "Think... What would the others want? I know Shinju wouldn't want you to throw away your life on this!"

She had a point. Shinju would never approve of such reckless actions, "Even so... Shinju may not agree with me on a lot of things, and we certainly fight and argue a lot on occasion, but... She wouldn't want to leave you to this fate either!"

Unable to vocalize another argument, she gave in, "I hate it when you're right... Shinji, you have to promise me, if it's too deadly... You have to give me up..."

"I won't let you down. It's a promise..." I shook her hand on it, "And when I succeed...?"

Koneko let go of my hands and walked away, "I'll think about it..."

Chuckling once more, I grabbed a bottle of soda out of my pocket, a small baby-sized one, and drank its contents, "Deal."

Koneko stayed silent for a while, but eventually she asked me," Why? Why do you do it?"

"Say what?" I asked, looking into her grey eyes. She was finally meeting my gaze, the first time in a long while.

Koneko slumped down onto the floor, closing the distance between us, her legs folded in a similar manner, "You've been going to extreme lengths to entertain everyone here."

I thought about what she said for a moment, "It's not necessarily entertainment."

"Your sauna duel with Daisuke... The double date with Satoshi and Kibou. Cosplaying with Shizue. Spying on the girls with Kenji. That incident with Takumi... The duel with Mayu... You're constantly throwing yourself into harm's way for our benefit, or our companionship... Why?" The events she listed were numerous, though some she was still as of yet unaware of.

Reluctantly, I conceded to her point, "Okay, yeah... I've been pretty reckless..." I gave in, "If you want the truth... For most of my life, I didn't have many friends. I was a loner, I would go straight home from school and be excluded from social events. Due to my emotional nature, I always stuck out and challenged the status quo. I didn't tolerate bullying, and I even beat up a couple of douchebags who were sexually harassing a classmate of mine. Things like that..."

Koneko contemplated what I had just said, "Your past sounds like mine, in a way... Isolation. Being an outcast. Feeling unwanted."

"My parents were... Well, they would never win awards. Except maybe the Darwin ones. They disliked my outbursts, they frowned upon my hobbies, and they considered me nothing more than a mistake of their earlier parenting," I commented on what should have been deeply painful subjects, "Everything was grim until I met Jun Kasatani. She was the first girl I ever gave my heart to... Made good friends alongside her. Kiyo Isshiki, my best friend and a workaholic. Takuro Ibara, my second best friend on the public morals committee. The four of us were inseparable..."

"Were...?" Koneko asked, "Wait, you don't have to tell me if..."

I waved my hand, "Relax. Kiyo and Takuro are doing well in high school, and they support each other pretty well. Jun... Well, she... She died. Was killed, rather," Koneko could see the facade I carried break away, "Something I... I blame myself for every day... So when we came here... I resolved to make sure that I'd have as many friends as possible, no matter the costs... Even if I die in the process... I don't want to go back to being alone!" I shouted, "I don't!" Tears flowed down my face as I sat horrified at the possibilities, "Not again... My heart can't take that kind of isolation!"

Koneko noticed my distress quickly and she grabbed me, pulling me to her and stroking my cheek as she comforted me, "It's alright, Shinji... I understand. I'll be here for you, no matter what comes..."

And like that, I ended up being comforted by Koneko. It was hard for me to disclose the past voluntarily, but it felt really nice to get that off of my chest and get the emotions out.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time (To Die?) Event 4#**

Today was the day. Koneko notified me that she was beginning to lose her grip, and she had already retreated into the maze-like forest. I planned to follow and combat her wild side in an attempt to free her from the darkness inside her.

I was redressed in my newly resewn hoodie and clothes, though I carried with me a first aid kit which I had left on the bench, just in case. Along with painkillers, gauze, a spare set of clothes, anything for my potential wounds.

I deeply regretted my plan. I hadn't been truthful to her when I said that I'd back out if things got hairy. I was committing myself to this plan wholeheartedly, my life on the line.

Worst case scenario, I had a plan. This is what I thought to myself as I tried to stalk Koneko's beastly form into the woods. Eventually, I cornered her (or rather, followed her), to an isolated field. It was here I jumped out of the shadows, revealing myself to her, "Koneko! It is time for our d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel!" I pulled out a rope, brought just in case, "The taming of the kawaii tiger girl begins now!"

Koneko snarled at me, making a running start before leaping at me. I slid to her right side and wrapped the rope around her, pulling her hard to the ground. I had considered a nonviolent approach, but I knew that would fail. As I tried to wrap her up further, to coil her up like a snake, she easily and swiftly tore through the rope as if it was paper, "Hora hora! She broke free already!" Like Alice I was down the rabbit hole again... She clawed through the rope, briefly turning her back to me.

Aha! Advantage mine!

I moved as quickly as possible, seizing her arms from behind. Her soft fur felt nice, but I couldn't get distracted now. I pulled downwards, knocking her to the ground, her arms pinned behind her, "Koneko! Stop resisting! It's Shinji!"

She struggled wildly, hitting me with the back of her legs as she fought against being trapped as hard as possible. A caged animal is a dangerous one indeed.

Struggling to keep a hold on her, I tried to think of my next move, "Think! How can I immobilize her!?" Before I could come up with some genius jury-rigging plan, she threw me off, finally using enough force to free herself. I was right before; Koneko was frighteningly strong.

Falling backwards, I pulled out my last resort; a shock collar. That supermarket had everything...

Koneko glared at me, snarling in rage, baring her fangs. Hissing, she lunged. I ran forward. Her claw tore through my shoulder, but I managed to get the collar around her neck and fasten it. Moving so she could not chomp my fingers off, I pulled out the remote control and turned it up to 150 volts before unleashing the pain.

Koneko's body jolted as the electricity gave her a nasty shock, though certainly bearable. I had tested it on myself earlier to make sure no permanent damage would be done.

Unfortunately, Koneko must have retained some intelligence. She lunged forward, and I continued shocking her as needed. Little did I realize the trap I was in. She finally stopped lunging, crouching down and curling up.

Did I win? As I approached her, she shot up and clawed the controller out of my hand before quickly stomping it out into bits. She grinned at me, the plastic and metal pieces now scattered on the dirt floor.

She was smart enough to know the controller caused the shocks. Damn... She wasn't smart enough to predict that when she destroyed it, the collar would go off until the override button on the back was pressed. I had anticipated this...

Once again getting shocked, now at 165 volts, Koneko hissed at me and lunged, though she was now unable to catch me due to her shaking. Like this, we engaged in a dance, where she attempted to maul me and I barely dodged. We were both tiring, or at least I thought. Then I realized Koneko retained all of her intelligence when she transformed.

Only when I was significantly tired out did she rip the collar off, screaming in pain as the shocks intensified until she got it off of her neck and tossed it aside. The way she was looking at me told me she had a lot of reserve energy left, and I had been burned out by her constant attacks.

Well, shit. This went awry... Seeing no other choice, I fled, but she cut me off, forcing me to turn back. I tried to lose her in the forest, but I speedily hastened my own demise, getting trapped in a clearing, standing against a tree. Slowly but surely, she crept up on me, claws bared and teeth glinting in the dark shrubbery from the reflected sunlight. With no other option left, I pleaded with her, "Koneko! Stop, please! Can't you hear me!? I-gah!" A strike to my lower stomach, blood dripping off of her claws, "Fuuuuuck!"

Koneko swung again, tearing the right side of my chest. Crouching down, she evilly grinned at my now terrified expression, knowing I was basically defenseless now.

"Koneko! Please! We're friends, right!? Let my heart speak to yours!" I tried to reason, "The power of friendship always saves the day!" She swung again, cutting my right leg.

What stung the most wasn't dying, or never seeing my friends again. What stung the most was knowing Koneko might be executed upon my demise. Unable to contact her human side, all I could do was cry and bemoan my plans, "I should have... I'm sorry... I failed you, Koneko..." My tears fell, flowing freely.

A couple teardrops landed on Koneko's face, and for a moment, she gave a very confused expression. She stepped back, standing up a bit, getting a better look at my face,"...Shi..."

Wait, what? Was this my chance? I just had to think of a brilliant, infallible plan that would never let me down! Unable to think of one, I went with my gut feeling. When in doubt...

I leaned forward and surprised her with a passionate kiss. Pulling her to me, I locked lips with her, hoping that my feelings for her could penetrate the hymen of her heart.

In a room far away, a young author was smacked by a bespectacled young man over the amount of disappointment that could be found in a single metaphor. Rubbing his now stinging cheek, he went back to writing.

Back in the forest...

I didn't expect her to assault my tongue with her own, but I engaged in her dance, before pulling away, a trail of saliva linking us, "...Wo...Wow..."

Koneko looked away for a moment, not responding. had stopped functioning.

I fell down onto the ground, clutching my wounds and hoping that Koneko wouldn't surprise me.

"Surprise!" Koneko had grabbed me, holding me close, "You... You managed to do it, Shinji! I don't know whether to be proud or impressed!"

I was startled, and practically jumped out of my own skin. When I realized the adorable person glomping onto me was no longer feral, I relaxed, "Oh, Koneko... Thank goodness you're back to normal. You cornered me here and was on the verge of murdering my face."

Koneko noticed the four wounds I was sporting, "No! You're hurt, again! Shinji, I'm so..."

I put my finger to her lips, "No worries, it's over now. That nightmare is gone."

Koneko lead me back to the bench and began using the first aid kit to patch me up, "You're lucky I have some experience with tending animal wounds, you know..."

"I'm happier about the fact you can retract those claws... Tigers can't," I knew that big cats, or at least most of them could not retract them, "Looks like your brother cared enough about you to eliminate issues like that..."

As she began cleaning my cuts and covering them in gauze and bandages, she commented, "Luckily the cuts aren't too deep. Maybe I held back on purpose a bit, this time..."

"Didn't look like it. That hellbeast tried to rip my face a new one..." I plainly retorted, "I've been wondering... Why didn't you ask Gundham to help you? I mean, he's also a tamer... He certainly could have helped you out..."

Koneko stopped for a moment to look me in the eyes, "For the same reason I never asked Mayu... I was too terrified to risk the only friends I had just to make my life easier..."

I nodded in understanding, "It must have been scary to even think of asking for help..." She continued tending to my wounds, "You no longer need to concern yourself with that, Koneko..."

After wrapping up the last of my cuts, she put away the supplies I had brought with me back into the first aid kit, "You won our gamble... I really didn't think you could do it, but you did..." she glanced at the ground, "Could you tell me how...? What did you do...?"

Instead of merely telling her, I offered, "I could show you..." Koneko reluctantly nodded, and I leaned in and kissed her, feeling her warmth on my lips once more.

Pulling away, I detected the red tint in her cheeks, "Shinji... I, you, we... Wow." she was blushing furiously now, and it was absolutely captivating.

"You damn manwhore!" Shinju yelled behind me, and I turned to notice Mayu, Shizue, and Shinju walking towards us on the bench, "We get worried about you two disappearing and discover this secret area and here you two are locking lips like it's no big thing!"

Koneko blushed like crazy and hid her face, "What!? No! We came here because Shinji wanted-"

Shinju shook her head, her anger clearly showing, "Shinji wanted to cop a feel, right!?" she clicked her tongue in frustration, "I swear... If he just told us beforehand, I wouldn't even have to punish him. Come on, get over here..." She menacingly moved towards me, but I was already hitting the ground, unconsciousness sparing me my fate.

 **Shinju's POV**

The blasted manwhore fell to the ground, "Oh, really? Playing dead doesn't work here..."

Koneko stood up and checked on him, "He's actually out... The blood loss must have taken a toll on him after all..."

"Of course it di-what!?" Rushing over, Koneko showed us his wounds, "How did he get hurt like this!?"

Koneko extended claws out of her hand. Holy shit! "Koneko, you did it!? Why!? Does Shinji like it THAT rough!?"

"What!? No!" she vehemently refused my assumption, "It's a long story..."

I folded my arms, "I'm waiting. We've got time..."

 **Intermission**

Sitting on the bench in between Koneko and Shizue, I nodded, "Sounds exactly like the bullshit he'd end up doing. You should have known he'd go too far! Why didn't you tell us!?"

Koneko didn't talk for a moment, and when she did, her voice shook a little, "I trusted him..."

"What?" Mayu said, having not heard her due to her whispering.

"I trusted him, okay!?" Koneko answered with a frustrated tone, "If anyone could do it, he could! I had faith that he'd do it! I've never been able to have faith in someone before... He's always there, for me, for you, for all of us..." she was struggling to continue, "Despite everything he's been through, everything we put him through! He may not be the hero we deserve, but damn anyone who says we don't need him... I need him!" Koneko's voice raised in volume on that last part.

Shizue was clearly touched by this display of strong feelings, "Koneko... Do you love him?"

I groaned in annoyance, "Damn it! The manwhore strikes again! I swear, he's using some kind of like, protagonist power or divine favoring..."

Mayu laughed, "To be fair, Shinju, you were the one who keeps clinging to him. If he's so much trouble to deal with, why don't you move on...?"

I couldn't come up with a good response, "S-shut up! Someone has to monitor him!"

Shizue smirked, poking me in the side, "Really? You made up some scheme with Takumi just to try and make him suffer, and how did he react?"

Remembering that incident with a bad taste in my mouth, I quieted down, "...Fine. I'm being too hard on him. I know he doesn't do this on purpose, and it's hard for him to handle this kind of thing, but it's just... It's aggravating!"

Koneko offered me her hand, "Shinju, it's alright. Even if Shinji reciprocates our feelings, it doesn't dampen his love for you in the slightest. That should be clear by now..."

I hated to admit that she was right. I gave Shinji so much crap for his manwhore-ness, even though it was no true fault on his own. He genuinely cared for the girls who had professed feelings for him, and his fear of causing trouble meant his hands were tied. If he chooses, if he doesn't, someone is unhappy no matter what.

This was the kind of thing that made Shinju yearn for her memories even more. What happened in the time they lost? Could those events, those memories locked away in the darkest corners of their minds, explain this situation? Had these feelings carried over? Or was it something else entirely...?

 **Shinji's POV**

The light hurt my eyes as I opened them up, noticing I was still in the forest maze on the ground next to the bench. I looked over and saw Shinju, Shizue, Mayu, and Koneko talking and laughing as if they were best friends. I couldn't stop myself from smiling like a kid in a candy store. This wasn't how I had imagined this to happen, but the end result was truly what I wanted.

They noticed my awakening and Shinju spoke first, her harsh tone oddly absent, "Welcome to the land of the living, Shinji. Koneko here explained everything, and I have decided to remit your punishment this time."

"Really?" she nodded, "Thank you, then. I'm sorry about this whole thing, but... Koneko, I'm..."

Koneko smiled, the first time in a long while, "It's okay. They've explained to me your... circumstances. And that doesn't change what I feel towards you... I know you don't act like this out of heartless selfishness..."

Damn. "It's not like I don't feel guilty about this compromising issue..."

Mayu interjected, "Remember what I said, Shinji. We are willing to accept you for who you are."

I really didn't know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut as they continued talking with each other. What had my life become?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

Once again, we had gathered everyone in the courtyard. Koneko had made the determined decision to reveal to everyone what her brother Kenta actually did, so everyone was gathered.

With her cloak on, and Shinju and I standing on either side behind her, we waited until everyone gave us their attention.

"Fuck's sake... You people again... Meddling in everyone's affairs and spilling your hearts out in front of us..." Takeshi groaned, complaining about how this had become a bit routine.

Nico nudged him in the shoulder, "Come on, Takeshi. We need to be honest with each other, and it seems important to them, don't you think?"

Shoving Nico away from him, Takeshi continued to grumble, "Fine, just get the fuck on with it already."

Nari sighed, shaking her head in disappointment, "Can you go a single sentence without saying that word?"

Takeshi glared at her, "Yeah, I can. You stupid bitch..."

Nari rolled her eyes, "Excuse me, you prick!"

Koneko cleared her throat before speaking up, "Everyone... My brother Kenta was, as you know, a man who experimented on DNA. When I was younger, I found it so amazing, and so I begged him for cat ears and the tail."

"Which he gave you, obviously," Akihiko pointed to her ears.

"Yes, but more than that..." She took off her cloak, revealing her furry arms and sharp claws, "He did more than that. My DNA is perhaps 70% human, 5% cat, and 25% tiger... I wouldn't know how to slice that, but basically I'm a bit of a freak..."

Daisuke laughed it off, "Everyone here is, though."

Kenji adjusted his glasses, "I am more concerned with your allegiance with the Dominatrix than whatever oddities your body has been given. I've seen far weirder in my time..."

Shinju glared at Kenji, "I thought we agreed you'd stop calling me that!"

"I didn't say right away," Kenji rebounded her verbal assault.

Koneko looked around, "Really? You... You guys don't...care?"

"Maybe the average person might, but if you can't tell," Nico began, "None of us are normal ourselves. Judging isn't our thing."

Takumi spoke up, "Doesn't affect how hard I'd bang you!" he proceeded to get smacked in the back of the head by a furious Nari, "What!? It's a compliment!"

She smacked him again, "More like sexual harassment!"

Kenji chuckled, "Isn't the same to him?"

With no one else to comment, Shinju triumphantly walked to her seat. I was about to as well, but Koneko grabbed my arm, "I have something I need to confess to you too, as well..."

Nodding, she lead me back to her room. As we stepped inside, I chuckled, "Time for that affair? Haha!"

Koneko sat on the bed, and the look she gave me was one that I'd never seen before, "I didn't say this before, but... There was one another psychological thing that changed in me when Kenta altered my DNA."

"Another psychological thing? Like what? Why didn't this come up earlier?" I asked.

She looked away, her embarrassment clear as day, "I never imagined I'd need to discuss it... But now I have to..." I gave her a quizzical look, so she clarified, "As you are well aware by now, I... I think I love you. We haven't known each other for long, but you've already done so much for me... You make me feel special, and I can't help my feelings any more than you can..."

I must have turned an amusing shade of pink as she said this, "Oh, uh... I... I feel the same way, Koneko. I didn't admit it before, but you know why..."

Koneko nodded, "I have one last burden to place on you."

"Burden?"

She continued avoiding looking into my eyes, darting her own around the room, looking for anything to focus on instead, "Kenta always complained about meddling in his business. I was curious as a kid, so he decided to meddle in my own. He did a psychological thing, and well..."

I didn't get what she was implying, "You're not sounding sad about it, just embarrassed. What is it? How bad could it be?"

She mumbled something, but I didn't hear it, and after asking for clarification, she sighed, "Kenta said if I fell in love, I'd eventually go into heat..."

"Oh, I see. I understa-What!?" my mouth fell agape, "You go into what now!?"

Koneko looked away, clearly too shy to look me in the face right now, "Yeah... Said he wanted to make my love life 'exciting'. Ass... Anyways, I'm bringing this up because...I..."

"Are you feeling it now, Ms. Sakai?" She nodded, confirming my fears, removing all doubts, "Oh craaaaaaaaaap!"

Koneko turned around and stepped up to me, staring into my eyes, "Shinji, if it's you... I don't mind. Rather, I'm very happy that you would be my first... Just know that I might get a little...rough."

I didn't know whether to shake Kenta's hand as I thanked him for his assholish decision or punch him for getting me into an even more complicated mess. I decided on both before Koneko jumped me.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Pride and Predator". Confessing to Koneko and taming her wild side has granted you the power to erase all dummy panels when engaging in the Closing Argument.**

 **You have been awarded Koneko's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	9. Takumi's Free Time Events

Author's Note: A shorter one, but still enjoyable to write. Some people never change...

 _ **Free Time Events with Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

I was a bit more reluctant hanging out with Takumi than with some of the other students simply due to how off putting his perverted nature could be, but I eventually decided to spend time with him to learn more about him.

After a bit of searching, I located Takumi inside the cafe, drinking a vanilla shake in a mug shaped like breasts. Not even fazed at this point, I walked inside and greeted him, "Takumi, there you are, man."

Takumi bobbed his head in recognition of my arrival, "Sup, bro? What, come to chat me up on tips how to bed the ladies?"

I sighed, "First off, have you even slept with a girl before?"

Takumi immediately went on the defensive, "Does it matter, bro!? I'm a gentleman at heart, alright!?"

"Second, why would I get tips from the guy striking out?" That one must have stung.

He winced as I hit him in a sensitive topic, "Ouch! Bro, not cool! If you just came here to insult me, just leave, man! I get enough crap from Nari and Shinju!"

"That's your own damn fault, 'bro'. Stop acting like such a total man slut," I joked, "Anyways, I wanted to get to know you better."

"Gaaaay," Takumi gave me an annoyed look.

"As friends, you dipshit. If I was gay, I'd have higher standards," I shot him down, "I gotta ask, who taught you to act like this? The perverted jokes, grabbing people inappropriately, everything."

Takumi shrugged, "My older sister was the first Ultimate Womanizer, you know? She was legendary for seducing girls into her bed, a new one each night. She made headline news on occasion as the leader of a movement by young people to corrupt the society's morals and shit. She just wanted to have a good time, and taught others to do the same."

I was shocked, "So your older sister taught you all this? And she went to Hope's Peak with the same talent as yours?"

Takumi nodded, "Of course, bruh! I got all kinds of dates before I came here. Never bedded any of 'em, my parents refused to let me follow in her wake. Makes sense, considering she convinced some guy's girlfriend to cheat on him and ended up stabbed to death."

"Oh... Takumi, I'm sorry," I sincerely apologized, "About your sister."

Takumi finished his drink and slammed the mug down onto the table, "Eh, it's whatever, dude. All she ever did with me is teach me that. Never spent time with me, just ran off."

I nodded, "Well, this has been an interesting conversation. If you want, I'll leave you alone if you want..."

Takumi nodded, "Alright, man. Hit me up with your talent later. I've not forgotten."

I walked out, leaving Takumi to his own devices.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

A couple of days later, I made plans with Takumi to hang out at the cafe. He had asked me this time, so perhaps he wanted a favor from me, though I couldn't discern as to what.

I arrived and we spent some time discussing random topics. Eventually, he said something shocking, "You know, you're my first friend."

"What? Really? I thought you were a ladies' man, got all the chicks," I responded, "Plus, you're a model, and you can be down to earth and honest when you want to be."

He shook his head, "Exactly. Guys hate me because of my popularity with the fairer sex, and the girls I end up bailing on. Could never commit to a relationship, sucked at dating. Never really spent much time with girls, and all I did know was from big sis. Not very helpful in the long run."

I finally understood, "Takumi, if you just held back on the rather lewd comments you make all the time, I'm certain you could make friends here."

"I fear I've already ruined their good thoughts towards me," he reluctantly admitted, "I've been relegated to the lowly position of a side character with only one defining running gag. I figured, everyone here's so unique, they might accept my eccentricities, you know?"

"Big word, huh?" I chuckled, "You're smarter than you come off as, huh?"

Takumi nodded, "When I grow up, I want to be famous. I imagine all kids had uttered that in admiration of the celebrity life. Truth is, it's an awful business. Hell, take Sayaka Maizono for example. Rumors are she may have traded her, you know, body, to make it in the business. Some people think she'd go so far as to murder someone to keep her idol life going."

"Normally I'd say that's a bit of a stretch, but the document in the library revealed she did. Tried to murder Kuwata, honestly," I told him the details of the killing school life.

Takumi stood up, "Where is this book, man!?"

"Library, second floor, on the desk," I added, "Kenji and Shinju are looking through it as of now."

Takumi sped off, and I realized our conversation had ended very quickly. Still, I think I got to know him a little better.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Sometimes people need to just stop. Takumi was often one of them.

After Kenji's meeting at the hot springs, Takumi entered the lounge and greeted me as per the usual, "Shinji, man, you ditched. The details I heard, holy shit!"

I didn't acknowledge him for a bit, "I didn't want to participate in idle gossip."

Takumi sat down next to me, breast mug in hand, "Come on, man. Let loose for once. We should do something fun!"

"Like what?" I was curious as to what he had in mind.

"You're the Ultimate Arbiter, yeah? So you can amplify my powers, right?" Takumi led the conversation, and I nodded, "So what say you give me your power to seduce the girl I like. Then you get one of those girls you like, and we go on a double date!? I heard you and Satoshi had fun on one! Not to say you went together," he waved his hands, "Not that it would have been immoral if you two were dating... Oh, fuck it. You know what I'm asking."

I let out a heavy sigh, "Takumi, I doubt I can force it to work. And even then, seducing a girl using magic Ultimate Talent doesn't seem fair to me."

"Man, you hid your talent from me! Used me as a guinea pig and stood by as I got mauled by the girls in the hot springs! You OWE me!" Takumi made a pretty passionate argument, albeit still weak in logic.

I refused, but after an extended amount of time having Takumi protest my decision and plead with me to change it, I gave in, "Alright, fuck it! Fine! Just shut the hell up about it!"

Takumi held out his hand, "Promise me! Cross your heart and hope to die if you break it!" Humoring him, I went through the motions, "Alright! Now let's go find Shinju!"

"Of cour-What!? You like Shinju!?" I exclaimed, quite annoyed, "You know that she and I-"

"Yeah, so? You're also dating what, like five other chicks right? You don't mind all that much if Shinju wants some side action from Taku here, right?" Takumi was definitely more clever than he let on, and I couldn't argue with that point in the slightest. Instead, I banked it on Shinju refusing him outright anyways.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, let's go find her." Takumi excitedly shook my hand, thanking me as we walked out of the lounge. Eventually, we found Shinju at the library, near the documents once more.

Takumi turned to me, "Okay, here's the plan! Channel me your powers, and I'll go ask, understand?"

"Copy, boss," I said, not invested in this idiotic plan of all. Takumi rushed over and began speaking with Shinju, who maintained a neutral face for most of the conversation. I looked away, sitting against a bookshelf, bored out of my mind.

I waited for him to get rejected, but he returned me to, giddy as a schoolgirl, "She said yes, dude! She said YES!"

"That's sad to hea-What!?" Are you kidding me!? Are you fucking kidding me!? I didn't even channel or try... Did I do this!?

Takumi placed his arm around me, "Now you go ask a girl to join us, tomorrow night, 8 PM. And try not to be a no show... She may not be able to keep her hands off me if you leave us alone, hehehe!" Takumi practically skipped off, and I finally realized how diabolical that son of a bitch really was.

I walked over to Shinju, who happily greeted me, "Shinji, hey! Are you excited for our double date tomorrow?"

I held my breath for a moment, "So you agreed? Gonna date Takumi, really? Thought you could barely stand him..."

Shinju shook her head, "I can try and fix him. Plus, he can be charming in his own ways."

"No he can't," I quickly fired shots, "Did you like, hit your head when you got up out of bed this morning?"

Shinju huffed at me, her usual self shining through, "Don't be rude to him, Kizami! You're the one who wanted to make friends with everybody, so act like it. Don't take it out on me that you're upset I agreed to date him without letting you know first."

I breathed hard for a couple of moments, "No, I'm not. Just making sure you're aware of what you signed up for. If you saying yes had anything to do with me, I could never..." I shook such thoughts out of my head, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow night. I have to go chat with Granberia."

Shinju seemed a bit down as I said this, and I bid her farewell.

As I left the library, I thought really hard about what I was feeling inside. Would I be jealous, and should I? Was this all my fault? These things were what kept me awake that night.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The next day, Takumi forced me out of my cottage at around 7:45 PM to hurry me over to the courtyard. Many of the others had already gone to bed, meaning we wouldn't be disturbed.

I seated myself on the left side of the fanciest picnic table, or rather, the one without paint chips coming off. Takumi sat across from me, and he was wearing a suit like mine, "You really dressed up for this, huh?"

Takumi nodded, the look on his face one of anticipation, "Man, it's my first date in some years or so, if our memories were actually jacked... I have to make a good impression now."

He reminded me of one of the drearier revelations we had been given by Monotaro here, "What d'you think about that? The whole memory thing?"

Takumi didn't respond for a moment, "I did some checking... I'm taller and weigh more than I remembered, but if I just took a train ride, that'd be impossible."

"Then I suppose it's been confirmed," I replied, not wishing to believe that it was true, "Wonder how much has happened since we-"

Our dates had arrived. Shinju sat next to Takumi, wearing her rather risque outfit she had when we met with Satoshi and Kibou.

Granberia calmly joined my side, not saying anything, her black skirt and stocking matching her dark blue blouse. She was surprised that I had asked her out, but I felt she was a nice counter opposite Takumi's eccentric personality and Shinju's boisterous and sometimes overbearing attitude.

Yoshikazu had already served us our food, so I offered to get it, and made my way into the small kitchen to gather our plates and bring them out. His kindness knew no bounds.

Setting everything out, we began eating and discussing with each other what we had been doing, and making other small talk. I noted that Granberia was much more talkative than she normally was, and I was proud of her for stepping out of that comfort zone. Takumi, on the other hand, was also acting much more presentable and mature, except for the odd moment when he would squeeze Shinju's chest.

I didn't comment on it. It was not my place to do so, and so I just ignored it. She had asked for this, and I half expected her to knock Takumi out after enough of this.

"So, Takumi, did you read that data on the whole Sayaka murder trial?" I asked, as I realized I had never followed up on it.

Takumi put his chopsticks down, leaving his rice to sit as he responded, "That was fucked, man. I was shipping her and Naegi so hard, and she ends up trying to frame him! Worst off, my hero Leon did it! How wrong is that!? Killing her was..."

Shinju spoke up, "She attacked first, though. Some might look at it as self-defense. Others even theorize he might have stabbed her by accident."

"If he didn't intend to kill her, he should have gathered the others and reported what she did," Granberia revealed her own views on it, "He purposefully went out of his way to get into that bathroom. Even if it was an accident, the fault is his."

Shinju wasn't done arguing yet, "Well, he didn't plan for the trial! Maizono must have known there would be an investigation or something, since she went so far as to frame Naegi like that. Leon just let him take the fall; it wasn't premeditated! Maizono would have let everyone die just to save her precious 'career'!"

Finally, I said my piece, "Leon did too," Shinju looked at me, "That bastard didn't out himself when he knew everyone would die. Lord knows if I killed someone here, even if it was justified in my mind, I'd sell myself out. In a heartbeat. Leon was selfish, and thought he was worth more than everyone else. I'm sad that anyone died, but he knew the threats."

"No one else sold themselves out!" Shinju argued.

"Mondo had a man's promise to keep. Celeste was making a game of it. Otherwise, she would have killed Naegi or Kirigiri or Togami. Sakura tried, but Monokuma ruined that," I wouldn't budge, "Regardless, the entire event's fucked. The world has somehow ended, and they locked themselves in Hope's Peak to save themselves? Worst part is, I think we're doomed. Ultimate Despair ended the world, governments came crashing down."

Granberia chimed in, "The school sending us here last minute to keeping us safe... A member of Ultimate Despair selling us out... It all sounds very plausible considering what the first killing school life consisted of."

Takumi shrugged it off, being his nonchalant self, "Whatevs, man! We'll be fine, no one's gonna get murdered. Everything'll be fine. So let's just keep this up..."

We returned to more positive topics to discuss, and this carried on for a while.

It got late, and although Takumi was still a bit annoying. Granberia stood up, "I'm exhausted, so I'll be heading back to my cottage. See you later, Shinju, Shinji."

"What about me?" Takumi raised his hand.

Granberia turned back, giving him a disapproving look, "What _about_ you?" She walked off, leaving him in his own self pity.

I laughed, "Wrecked, son."

Takumi pouted, "Whatever. She's jealous I got a girl here. I don't have to take shit from nobody..."

Shinju pinched his cheek rather hard, "What was that?"

"Alright, I'll still take shit from you!" Takumi squeaked out, wincing in pain.

"Already whupped, huh? Kenji's right, you are a Dominatrix," Shinju very nearly slapped me, and had I not ducked, she would have.

Takumi turned to Shinju, "Hey, wanna go back to my cottage?"

Shinju looked to me, "You mind?"

What? Why was she asking me? "Not at all. I don't own you," I calmly replied.

Shinju gave me a quizzical look, "You're okay with Takumi ravishing me?"

"I'm not going to stop you... it's not my place," I countered, "I'm no better, clearly."

"Fuck..." Shinju stood up, "Why... Why don't you care!?"

Takumi laughed, "You went through all this trouble, and me getting to grope you, and he turns out to be a better man than you!"

Shinju slapped him off of the table side, "Shut up, you perverted ass! I swear, if I've got hand prints, I'll break your fingers right off!"

"What is this, hm? Trouble in paradise?" I was confused, and when in doubt, joke it out.

Shinju was clearly enraged at me as well, "What's with this laissez faire bullshit!? I expected you to knock Takumi's lights out half an hour ago! Are you okay!? With me betraying you like this!? Don't you care... about me?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "So, wait un momento. You agreed to this, set up a double date, to get a rise out of me?"

"I wanted to see how you'd react! I thought you'd act like I would, get overprotective and jealous. And instead, you..." she slumped to her seat, "All you did was prove you're more mature than me..."

Takumi continued, "She came to me and Kenji with this idea, to help us put together a plan to see if you'd get jealous. I only agreed to it 'cause I got to cop some feels and not get beaten into a new day, haha!"

I turned to Shinju, ignoring Takumi for the moment, "Shinju, listen to me. I don't mind your reactions. If I did, I'd just tell you to shove off. It's a part of you. I'm not like that, though." I hesitated, "I'm just glad to get any time with the people I consider precious. I'm more aware of what losing that is like than you..."

Takumi laughed, "Well, all's well that ends well. Shinju finds out how much Shinji loves her, Shinji shows off how kind and forgiving he is, and I get my boob grab quota filled."

"Oh, Takumi... I'm nowhere near as nice or forgiving as you think..." I climbed onto the table, cracking my knuckles, "I put up with you and your hands-on approach because I figured Shinju'd protest. Now that I know you forced that favor out of her... I'm going to have to beat you into a fucking coma!"

"Can't you just knock me out like everyone else!?" Takumi screamed, getting up from his seat and fleeing the opposite direction.

I laughed like a maniac, "Fainting is for pussies! Always go full coma!" I chased after him.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

Two days passed, and when Takumi had healed up enough to be able to flee from me should I decide to beat his punk ass again, he met up with me in the lounge once more.

"Shinji? Can I talk, man?" Takumi asked, still showing his fear towards me.

I sipped my cup of hot chocolate with a loud slurp, watching his panicky movements, "I'm not getting out of this chair. Sit on down."

Takumi reluctantly did so, and it made me happy that I had successfully put the fear of God into him, "I'm not mad, about the whole beating thing. If you did that to my girl..."

"Your girl? You have one?" I joked, making fun of his situation.

Takumi stared off into space, probably imagining her in his mind, "Asuna Takahara. She's my only friend, the only one who puts up with me. I... I love her, but I'm so afraid to tell her. So instead I run around acting like this, and sabotage my other relationships. I've never had the courage to tell her, but..."

"You've decided to change all that?" I asked.

"She could have died in the ending of the world... I'll get out of here, and I'll find her! No matter the cost!" Takumi shouted, "And I'll confess to her. You've shown me the courage I need to attain, and I thank you for that."

I rolled my eyes, "Me, really? I don't see how."

Takumi sighed, "You got six girls, man. Balancing them and making it work. A real life High school of the Dead sitch, man. You give no fucks how many beatings you take or anything. And that is the mantra I'll take. No matter how much work it takes, I'll prove to her my love is real! With you as my wing man, I hope."

I shrugged, "Sure thing, man!" We shook hands on it, and I felt a strong bond forming between the two of us, despite our differences.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Television Power". Being Takumi's wing man grants you the incredible ability of increasing the tempo faster in Panic Talk Action events.**

 **You have been awarded Takumi's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	10. Hanako's Free Time Events

Author's Note: Halfway there! . The next one is probably going to take a while more than any of these did. xD

 _ **Free Time Events with Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Trying to convince Hanako to spend time with you is difficult due to her overwhelming shyness of public situations. After much prodding from Shinju and myself, we convinced her to spend time with us. Shinju had since decided to go train with Akihiko, though she did yell at me not to do anything funny.

Sheesh, what did I do?

I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head as Hanako entered the library. I waved to her from upstairs, and she slowly made her way up the stairs to join me. She quite reluctantly sat in the chair I had graciously prepared for her, "Hanako, welcome. Glad to see you could come. I know it's intimidating and scary to meet new people, but I want to remind you that we aren't going to hurt you."

Hanako nodded, not responding vocally, instead bringing out a tea set she had prepared, fixing it for us, "Tea? Green..."

I approved and took the small cup, tasting the tea. Normally the stuff made me gag but this one had been made especially to give it a sweeter, more vibrant taste, "Wow, this tastes great. I can't believe you made it to my liking."

Hanako hesitated, "This is how I like it, as well..." she then bowed, "I apologize for making it for myself and not you! I meant no disrespect, Master Kizami!"

"Shinji... I broke Yoshikazu out of calling me master, don't force my hand," I joked, "I'm your friend. Or trying to be, at least. Not your master."

Hanako nodded, "Of course, Shinji. I am just unaccustomed to this... My duties... My chores weren't much, but I found myself to be quite good at it."

"So that's how you discovered your talent?" I was curious now.

"My mother passed the house work to me upon discovering my skills. She was always so proud of me, said I'd make a wonderful wife for someone someday. I chose to wear a maid outfit of my own accord; Yoshikazu sewed it for me to match his manner of dress and I found it to be so cute..." Hanako trailed off, admiring her own outfit.

I agreed, "It's certainly a cute design. I'm sure Kenji likes it, too."

Hanako's eyes widened as I mentioned him, "Why does he come to mind?"

Deciding to be honest, I answered straight out, "I believe he's fond of you. Taken a liking to you, clearly, considering the way he avoids the other girls in a lot of ways. Thinks you're too nice for all that evil organization stuff."

Hanako's eyes went wide and sparkles began to flow, "R-really!? You think he likes me!?"

I nodded, "I know for a fact he does. He basically said it straight out. When we got caught spying on you, he nearly fell off of the rock when he heard you confess you might like him, hahaha!"

Hanako clearly had no idea what to do with this information, and she had a little panic attack, "Oh, what do I do!?"

I shrugged, "I could be your wing man. Maybe help you confess."

Hanako gave me the look I'd only expect from a rabbit, "You would...?"

I scratched my head, "Yeah, why not? Maybe you can make him his favorite snack or something."

Her smile immediately faded away, "Oh...I see."

"What's the matter? No go?"

Hanako sighed heavily, "I can't cook. It's the one chore I never could master. I'm a mess in the kitchen."

I stood up, "Then we're gonna have to change that. Come on, Hanako! We're going to the kitchen! I'm no cooking mama, but I can teach you the basics."

"Yoshikazu tried to teach me, and all I did was make him and mom so sick they had to go to the hospital..." Hanako said, a tear in her eye.

I gave her a thumbs up, "No worries, I never give up! Never say die! I know you can do anything you put your heart to!"

"Isn't the phrase 'put your mind to'?" She had a legitimate question.

"Never agreed with that. Minds are flawed, foolish, an easy thing to break," I wasn't just speaking from experience, "Memories, ideas, logic, it's all inherently flawed due to our humanity. But our emotions? I guess they have flaws, too. You can be tricked or deceived, your heart can be broken."

Hanako ran her hand through her long hair, "So why do you pick the heart over the mind?"

I smirked, "Because a man in love is far more powerful than a man with mere logic."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

The next day, Hanako and I made our way into the kitchen when Yoshikazu had finished making lunch to begin our first day of cooking together. Kenji's favorite dish that we could make fancy but still simplistic enough to master in a short time period was a beef bowl, with rice and gravy under the beef stuffed tightly into one big bowl. Since we didn't want to make too much of a mess, we had decided to use smaller plastic containers to more easily carry it around.

Hanako and I had both adorned ourselves with aprons and set to work. The kitchen quickly grew dirty, as we both focused hard on making the meal. I was also making some so as to celebrate our victory, though I would glance over my shoulder randomly to ensure she was still working with me.

Yoshikazu had made a policy of being the only one to make food, but he gave us special exception since he trusted the both of us not to try and poison someone. I was so happy that he trusted me as much as he would Hanako, though I felt her presence here might be what swayed him in the end.

After a rough hour and fifteen minutes had gone by, we eventually finished our meals. Mine looked... passable, nothing to write home about. Hers was giving off a purple aura, and the smell was absolutely atrocious. Uh-oh!

Hanako and I seated ourselves outside on the cafeteria bench, and she handed hers over, "I tried my hardest on this..."

"I know you did. You had a pretty serious look on your face the whole time, too. It was inspiring," I praised her dedication.

Hanako blushed, "Go ahead, try it! I can't wait to see the look on Kenji's face! I'm sure he'll be so impressed!"

I was urged on by her excitement to try her food. Getting chopsticks, I put them in and pulled out a piece of beef? that was coated in what I thought was gravy. I put it inside my mouth, and the flavors...

They nearly killed me.

I don't know how long I had passed out, but when I finally stirred from what I assumed would be my eternal slumber, Hanako looked heartbroken and terrified, "Shinji! I was so worried that I had killed you!"

I wiped the sleepiness out of my eyes and looked at the table. Upon seeing the demon food once more, I covered it and pushed it aside, "That wasn't the worst food I've had... Damn camping trip..."

"What?" Hanako asked, confused as I looked out into the distance.

I shook my head, "No, no, forget it. Anyways, this didn't turn out so well, so we can try again tomorrow. Let's see if mine are edible..."

Hanako and I enjoyed mine, as we talked about casual things and what friends we had made or the experiences we've had.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

The next day, Hanako and I made our way to the kitchen. Waiting for Yoshikazu to finish cleaning the kitchen for our work to begin, we talked outside on the picnic table.

I decided to try and expand on what we knew about each other, "I think we've got a really good chance at improving. I'd never made anything by hand before, just microwaved stuff or popped it into an oven. If I can better myself at this, I know you can, too."

Hanako didn't speak up for a while, "Really? It was actually quite good! I thought you might have fibbed to how much you spent time making food..."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I quickly moved on, "So what do you do? You know, in your spare time?"

She didn't expect me to ask that, or she would have responded sooner, "Oh, uh... I enjoy reading, board games, and just quiet talks like this. I don't like going into louder environments. Fireworks in particular, though I do watch them from afar."

"Ah, that makes sense. You are pretty quiet yourself. But if you like quiet and all that, why d'you like Kenji?" I decided to give her the question on my mind.

Hanako blushed as I directed the conversation in such a direction, "I know that he's pretty loud at times, but he's kind to me. Sometimes he's a bit overprotective, but I know he means well."

I couldn't argue with that, "He's a bit eccentric, but I'm certain he'd take care of you. I mean, you don't have to cook to impress him..."

Hanako nodded, "I know that, but I want to! If I'm going to become an adult, I need to better myself! Yoshikazu always tells me how kind and sensible I am, but I want to be more skilled in other things as well!"

I gave her a smile and a pat on the head, "What a valiant goal. Then let's go save the day. I'm sure Kenji'll be proud to know how hard you worked for him."

With that encouragement, we went into the kitchen and began making our dishes once more. The hardest part about making this dish was finding the right kind of ingredients, sauces, and stuff like that to mix into it. For myself, I put some Worcestershire sauce into the beef to give it a bit of extra flavor.

Trim the fat, cook the rice, keep the gravy from burning. There were so many ways for this dish to go wrong if an amateur handled it, but I tried my hardest to outdo myself.

Hanako must have felt the same way, as she was constantly taste-testing her work and double checking her ingredients and the stove's temperature settings. Better safe than sorry is the old adage, right?

"Make sure not to spill anything into the dish, and keep to the recipe," I reminded her.

"I know what I'm doing! I'm working really hard this time..." Hanako waved off my warnings, giving me her promise that she would succeed this time.

"At least you're confident... Giving up is not the way to better yourself," I wiped my brow of the sweat coagulating there, as the room was easily 32 degrees Celsius, or about 90 degrees in Fahrenheit. I was just about to tap out when our meals were finished, and I hurried myself out.

Hanako began turning everything off and putting away the pots and pans while I aired myself outside, "You really can't handle the heat, can you?"

I was breathing a bit heavily, "Closed spaces, heat, and big bodies of water do not work with me at all. Not that I'm afraid of heat... I'd just rather not."

Hanako giggled, "Oh, is that how it is? I couldn't tell the difference, truthfully." She brought both of our dishes out and set them on the table, though she put hers into a small box usually used for bento.

Seating myself, I glared at her briefly, "Don't tease me, now. I certainly get enough of that from Shinju and the others."

Hanako handed me a plate and doled out mine into two halves, one for her and myself. As she began eating next to me, she finally replied, "I can tell. She really does care about you, though."

I sighed, folding my arms behind my head, leaning back, "I know. I just... My last relationship didn't work out so well, you know? That kind of stuff traumatizes you..."

"Are you referring to what you told us publicly? About Jun's passing?" Hanako's question pierced my heart, as I was surprised she even cared to remember.

What could I say? "...Yeah. Yeah, I am. It's so... painful, so hard to get over something like that. Excruciating for a heart on my sleeve idiot like myself. I may be the Ultimate Romantic, but sometimes I wish I could just...not feel it, you know? Get rid of all these emotions, all this pain."

Hanako shook her head, "But then you would not be Shinji, yes? You would have the same name, but you would not be the person that some of us love, that all of us consider a dear friend, right?"

I glanced away, staring at the rocks on the courtyard, "Dear friend... Tch. I'm an overly emotional freak who killed a bunch of gang members. I'm a deviant, a criminal, and a coward. I've lost faith in myself..." I balled up my hand into a fist before opening it slowly in front of me, just as a distraction, "But I have faith in everyone else here. To stay alive, to get out safely. That's what drives me to befriend you all. I don't expect to survive this, but if I can be the stepping stone for all of you to escape this nightmare, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Do you really hope to die in here? Despite what some of our friends may feel towards you?" Hanako asked this with such a pure heart, I didn't know how to lie to her.

So I didn't, "A bit, yes. Maybe this is divine punishment for me, brought from Ultimate Despair. First they took Jun, and now... Now they're probably going to take me, too. But I'll die before I let Shinju, or Shizue, or Mayu, or Daisuke, or even Takumi die. I don't want to lose anyone..."

She extended her hand to me, "Then we should promise. If one of us falls, the other has to get out alive..."

I rolled my eyes, but upon her prodding, I shook her hand, "I, Shinji Kizami, hereby promise to get out alive if anything unfortunate were to befall Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid. There, you happy?"

Hanako nodded as she continued eating my food, "Yes, I am. I want all of us to get out of here. Yoshikazu, Kenji, me, and you. "

"You and I," I corrected her.

Hanako playfully shoved me, "You behave. You did even better this time, I must say. I'm going to deliver mine to Kenji! Wish me luck! And if it goes poorly..."

I laughed, "We'll meet here same time tomorrow just in case. Talk to you later, Hanako." I waved her off, thinking to myself what I was going to do about the situation we were in.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The next day, I found myself outside of the cafeteria, waiting on Hanako's arrival, though I half expected her to show up only to tell me how wonderfully things went with Kenji. Maybe I was being a little too optimistic this time...

She finally arrived, a forlorn expression accompanied by her listless motions. Like a zombie, she stumbled towards me before sitting down at the table, not vocalizing any greeting for the longest time, "I failed..."

"What happened?" I asked, washing my hands with a small dish rag and sitting beside her.

Hanako didn't look up, "He passed out from the horrible taste! I thought I had killed him! I ran away before he could tell me how awful it tasted."

I tried my hardest not to laugh at his misfortune, "He totally deserved that. I mean, what? Well, we can only try even harder today!"

Hanako shook her head, "I'm not sure if I want to try again. What if I seriously hurt him next time?"

I put my hand to my heart, "Then Jesus has spoken. Er, I mean... We'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen this time. Alright? What do you think went wrong last time?"

"I think maybe I put in too much salt. Or maybe it was the khalamari that gave it the odd flavoring. Or was it the A1 mixed with tapatio sauce?" She was pondering what she did wrong.

"Woah, there. This time, follow the recipe. The recipe. Follow. The recipe. Understand?" I pointed to the recipe in the cookbook Yoshikazu had gotten us from the library.

Hanako reluctantly nodded, "I just thought I could specialize the flavor so that he could feel my feelings for him in every bite..."

"That's a nice sentiment, if you could actually cook. Wait until you've gotten more experienced for that," I gave her advice, and we walked inside the kitchen to begin preparing our meals for the third time.

Once again, we set about to fix our meal. Practice makes perfect after all. This is what we channeled as we prepared our meal this time.

Sadly, this time I completely miscalculated how much time to leave it on the stove and burned my food, "Well, Hanako, looks like I failed." I pulled the pot off, noting the sickly black color of the charcoal once called beef, "Ech! I'll throw this out..."

As I disposed of the failed meal into the trash can, Hanako commented, "It's great Monotaro restocks it for us."

I scoffed, "He only keeps it filled up so we end up killing each other. Death by starvation is frightfully boring. That would be a rather weak incentive for murdering our friends..."

Hanako seemed to flinch when I said that, "Do you think..."

I found myself a resting place on the bench, leaning back as Hanako continued working on her food, "What? That someone will murder? Eventually," she squeaked in fright as I answered so bluntly, "Don't get me wrong... I hope not, but... Human beings are easily manipulated..."

Hanako shook her head, "I don't think so at all! If we really are friends, we won't have to worry about murders at all!" she was pumped up about this, "We'd never give into such petty motives that Monotaro might surprise us with!"

I didn't necessarily want to argue with her, but I had to, "Petty? People have different value systems, you know? What if Monotaro kidnapped one of us and told us to kill or they'd die? What if he brings up the past we want kept secret? Threatens our families? Gives us a disease? Or worse, what if he has that member of Ultimate Despair to kill someone?"

She must not have thought out all of the possibilities, but she continued cooking, "We'd find a way to resist him... I'm certain."

I sighed. The thought was depressing, "I... I hope you're right, but... Even I had limits. Even I succumbed to... killing people, and my life wasn't even threatened."

Hanako must have finally finished her food, as she placed it on the table between us, "Shinji... Do you still feel guilty over that?"

"Of course I do..." I quickly answered her, the pain in my heart resurfacing, "There's a part of me that has forgotten something... Whenever I think too much about Jun, I get a really strong headache, and I get so upset... I wish I knew what it all meant."

Hanako thought about it for a moment, "Maybe it has something to do with those memories Monotaro stole from us."

I looked her in the eyes, "Hanako, be honest. Do you really feel safe around me? I mean..." I wiped the sweat off of my brow, "I'm not... a good person."

We sat in silence for a little while, but she must have found her courage, "But you can change. If you don't like the old you, you can change that, right?"

She was certainly an optimistic one, wasn't she? "Maybe... Anyways, let's try this food out."

We began eating the food that she had prepared, as she had made extra, "Wow! This is... You've definitely outdone yourself, Hanako. I think you found your magic touch!"

Hanako excitedly dug into her food as well, "I really did, didn't I?"

"Guess we can change for the better, huh? Looks like I have something to strive for..." I chuckled, thinking about all the memories we had made at this whole cooking thing, "So this might be our last day..."

Hanako shook her head, "No way! We can learn even more dishes, can't we?"

Surprised by her offer, I agreed, "Of course. Preferably still in the mornings, though. My schedule is a bit odd, fitting everyone into it."

"I understand. After dinner I like to read in the locker room to myself until it's night time," Hanako admitted.

I must have looked funny with how confused I was, "The locker room...? Quiet?"

Hanako nodded, "Yes, it is. I have saved some here for you..." she grabbed a container and filled it with some, "This is for Kenji and I. He offered to take me out when I got it just right!"

I handed her one of the other containers, "Take a backup, just in case," I offered, "No, seriously, just in case."

She rolled her eyes at me and laughed, much more genuinely than she ever had before, "Of course, Master," she curtsied before walking off, leaving me to my thoughts and some delicious food.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

Wondering how well (or how poorly) Hanako's meeting with Kenji went, I found myself falling asleep at the cafeteria tables the next morning, having stayed up a little bit too late due to having to deal with something.

I was eventually startled awake, causing Hanako to scream in unison with me due to my surprising her with a scream. I fell back off of the table and landed on my back, resembling a tortoise flipped over.

Hanako graciously helped me stand up straight, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I was just so excited to tell you how it went, and you were fast asleep."

I shook the dust off of me, unable to hold in a laugh, "Yeah, no worries. I was up late last night."

Hanako gave me a concerned look, "Insomnia? Bad dreams? What happened?"

I brushed off her worries, "It was the heat, honestly. I couldn't handle it..."

Hanako was confused by my answer, "It was abnormally cold last night, though."

"Wrong kind of heat..." I muttered, "Er, it's not important. So how did it go with Kenji?"

Hanako got into the kind of pose an idol might, extending her hand, giving me a cheerful thumbs up, "It went great! Well, I tripped and knocked one of the boxes into his face, but the backup you had me take worked wonderfully! He loved it, and we just sat and enjoyed the night sky."

I cracked my neck and my knuckles, trying to wake myself up from my untimely slumber, "Well, that certainly sounds romantic. Glad I could be of use."

Hanako hugged me, catching me off guard, "Thanks so much, Shinji! It means a lot to me!" I hugged her back before we parted, "I wasn't always so shy... My dad was very kind to me, and so was Yoshikazu. But when I got admitted to the Academy, I was so... terrified. Everyone here was some legendary, almost mythical being. How could I ever fit in...?"

"And instead of the esteemed high schoolers you expected, you instead were paired along with a bunch of rejected outcasts with dysfunctional personalities," I joked, "Not that I'd have it any other way, truthfully."

Hanako ran into the kitchen, "Let's learn something new! I need to expand my culinary arts!"

I grabbed the cookbook and walked in after her, once again setting to work in that horribly hot kitchen. As Hanako and I bonded in the battlefield of cooking, I felt a strong bond between us, one that could outlast this killing game.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Tasting". Bonding with Hanako and bettering yourself in the culinary arts allows you reduce an argument to three statements or less, useful for Nonstop Debates and Rebuttal Showdowns.**

 **You have been awarded Hanako's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	11. Granberia's Free Time Events

**Author's Huge Warning Note: While most of these events are relatively comedic with the occasional dark moments or references, this one is extremely different. It features the expected comedy and romantic undertones, but also heavily features violence and references to some really adult themes. Be warned, the first FTE contains a flashback that details more of someone's backstory, and it is really dark. This is your one warning. Otherwise, enjoy! :P**

 _ **Free Time Events with Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

One person I was definitely excited to spend time with was Granberia, since much of her story and past was an enigma to me. Even more so, I felt this odd connection with her, one that I could not place. Despite that, it was hard to convince her to spend time with me. She seemed wary of me, though I thought we had hit it off earlier. Perhaps Shinju had said something to her?

Regardless of what happened, Granberia asked for me to meet her in her room, though I didn't understand why she wanted to go to such a secretive location. I didn't distrust her. She would never try to murder me in such a way.

This is what kept me going as I stepped inside her room. The lights were off, so I didn't see anything, but I felt a presence behind me. Before I could move, someone kicked my foot out from under me. As I fell to my knees, I felt the blade of a knife against my throat. Granberia was behind me, twisting my right arm behind my back to doubly ensure I didn't resist her, lest she snap it like a twig.

"Oh, that's certainly a new kind of introduction!" I joked, knowing it was probably a bad time for that, "What did I do to earn this special treatment? Gh!"

She tightened her grasp on me, "Don't play games with me! I know what you really are!"

I had no idea what she was on about, "What? You know me?"

Granberia kept her grip on me as she exposed something I didn't know, "Before I was offered the chance to come this school, I was chased down a dark alley once. Stole from some goons, Grave Dangers. Local gang..."

As she said that, I began to get a headache as I tried to recall where I knew that name from, "They... Jun..."

"They were threatening to kill me, and then some guy showed up. Killed them all with an iron pipe and his switchblade. Had a dragon on the side of the knife and everything," Granberia glared at me as she remembered this story, "That guy killed thirteen people in a one-sided bloodbath. And that guy was you... But here you are, not charged with crimes. Here you are, a confirmed killer. In a killing game."

I tried my hardest to remember, and my headache only grew worse and worse as I contemplated it, "I... I don't remember..."

Granberia knocked me to the floor, holding me down, still armed and ready, "Well, isn't that convenient? A convicted killer forgets his crimes?" Granberia put her boot to my head, and as I hit the floor, my aching head got worse. I think around this time I lost consciousness briefly...

Dark images, ones of blood and fighting. A news report on Jun's death, killed by the alleged gang, the Grave Dangers. A follow up report discussing their untimely ends in the same area. As these dark images rushed through my mind, I began to remember, "...Granberia...? Were you... that girl...?"

It was a dark night. I was walking down towards the docks, switchblade in hand. A friend of my mom's had given it to me because of the cool dragon design, and he would have never thought I'd use it to end my own life. I stuck it back in my pocket as I reached where Jun died.

The heartache hit me all at once, and I could taste the despair in the air. My hands were shaking as anger overtook me. I had failed her. That was what I knew. A headache overtook me, though I couldn't determine why. The anger was threatening to overflow, but first came the tears. I slumped to the hard concrete as it started to rain, the tears in my eyes falling freely.

This was the very spot where... Wait? How the fuck do I know that!? Gah!? The headache grew, becoming mind numbingly painful, so much so that I bent over in agonizing pain. That was when I heard the scream.

"Get away!" A girl screamed, and by the sound of her voice, she was in dire need.

Shaking off the aching feelings, I ran around the corner and started running down the walkway. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, looking for the disturbance as fast as possible. I turned another corner, rounding the next, with no regrets as I sped forward.

A girl in a black cloak was cornered by eleven, twelve, thirteen guys. The bastards were clearly intending to kill her or far, far worse. I noticed a small iron pipe nearby and picked it up. I stepped forward, pulling the knife out of my back pocket. I was gripping it so hard, I was worried I might cut myself on it.

"The fuck are you guys doing!?" I yelled out, trying my best to sound intimidating.

They slowly turned to me, and upon seeing me, some of them grinned, "Hey, it's that guy! Remember, the one whose bitch we killed!" Several of them laughed, and I realized what they had done. These guys were the Grave Dangers.

One of them stepped forward, "Howdy, name's Keigo! I'm the one that ran your bitch into the ground," he pulled out a knife, "In more ways than one, hehehe..."

As he said that, my headache only got worse and worse, and worse still. What was I remembering...?

A flashback was coming to me, another one. This one was marred, cut into pieces. But as it slowly became clear, the rage inside me was awakened.

Keigo's nearest ally laughed as I didn't respond, "Awe, he's mad! We took his girl's first time! And all he could do was watch, tied up like a fuckin' dog on a leash!"

Keigo turned to him, "Now don't remind him of that, Hanko. He might end up killin' himself before we can!"

Two of the guys charged me, not awaiting their bosses' orders. One to the left, the other to the right. The scum known as Left tried to grab the pipe out of my hand. With a small movement on my legs, I was out of his reach, bringing the knife in my other hand into his stomach. He let out a gurgle, but the smile on my face must have frightened him worse. I pulled the knife sharply, cutting a swath into his now gaping wound, before shoving the iron pipe into him sideways. As he fell back making awful noises, I looked away from him, unable to bear the sight of him myself.

Right looked quite stunned at my brutality, and I charged. I headbutted him in the nose, sending him sprawling. I quickly leapt on him, shoving the blade deep into his chest, "How does it feel to be penetrated, Mr. Right? Looks like you're now Mister Wrong!" Pulling my weapon out, I stabbed him again and again.

At this point, one of the other guys looked to Keigo, "Boss, what the fuck? This kid took one hit last time and pussed out!"

Keigo chuckled, "Then go and kill him, you retards! What are you standing around gawking for!?"

By that time, I had retrieved my iron pipe, blood covering my face in splatters, "Yes, kill me! Try it, you cock slaps!"

The next four rushed me, one carrying a chain. A second had a small blade, and the third carried some kind of baton. The fourth was lucky enough to have a taser, and he brandished it menacingly.

"So, four more competitors! We have Udon, Ular, Dimitri, and Grim! Let's go!" Udon, the man with the Afro, swung first. His chain whipped forward. Taking the blow to my shoulder, blood came out as I grimaced in severe pain. Udon pulled the chain away, so I put my knife in one of the chain links, pulling it towards me. Udon fell forward, not putting his weight into resisting me, and I swiftly knocked him to the ground with my pipe.

Ular, a bald man with a thick mustache, made his move, blade in hand. I grabbed the end of the chain and swung it towards him,my knife still stuck in one of the links. As he tried to parry, I brought the iron pipe forward, slamming it into his toe.

In response, he stabbed my leg, but this offered me enough time to smack him in the back of the head with the pipe. As he stumbled forward, I wrapped the knife chain around his neck, ending his life. Pulling the knife out of the chain link, I brandished it in my right hand, chain in my left.

I turned on the others.

Dimitri nodded to Grim, and they both charged. Grim lunged with the taser, aiming for my extended arm. I whipped the chain towards him, forcing him to back up. Dimitri jumped towards me. I smirked like a maniac, "I love the way your blood runs cold when our eyes meet!"

The baton struck my ribs, and I heard a distinct cracking sound. Spitting some blood out of my mouth, I smiled again, "Say hi to your mother for me!" I slammed the knife into his jaw, watching him fall onto the ground, trying to pull it out.

I picked up his bloodied baton and moved towards Grim. As he moved to meet me, I ran forward and ducked under him. With Ular's knife, I disarmed him, grabbing the taser off of the ground while Grim tended to his hand.

"Stop! This is the policia!" I tased him in the leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. As he fell back, I noticed Udon was still bleeding on the ground, in a daze. I nodded, walking over to Dimitri. Pulling the blade out of his dead hands, I congratulated him, "Nice, got it out. Good job, Dimitri."

Grim (though Hanko was his real name) had already gotten up, more formidable than the others. He lunged for me, his taser back in his grip. Taser clashed against baton, and the wood splintered. The blow hurt both of our hands, but Grim quickly regained his stance. He noticed the chain on the ground and went for it.

I stabbed the splintered baton into his leg, causing him to howl in pain. A quick slice, and his life was ended. I walked over to Udon, who was almost unconscious. I wrapped the chain around his neck and began strangling him, "Alright, chucklefucks. Back off the girl or he gets it!"

Keigo's right hand man laughed, "Like we care! Inigo and Keigo, the Despair Duo! We care not for such pathetic minions! End his life if you wish!"

Without hesitation, I pulled the chain hard, ending Udon's suffering. Blood seeped from my right leg, my shoulder, and my rib hurt like hell. I ignored it as best I could, my anger keeping me afloat.

Keigo and Inigo both grinned maliciously, "Well, isn't he a fighter? Where was this spirit? When we killed your little girlfriend? When we violated her!?"

Granberia's eyes went wide, "You did what!?"

Keigo turned to her, "Yes, right in front of him! Chained him to a pole and made him watch! Had her scream for help, just to make it so much more miserable! On the order of an Ultimate Despair, no less! Ah, but it was fun! I remember her tears were especially delicious..."

"You people are...you people are sick!" Granberia screamed. She looked absolutely horrified by how inhuman the two men were, and I could see her grinding her teeth in a mix of fear and anger.

Keigo turned to his other five goons, "Ren, Ran, Rin, Len, Dorrick, kill that bastard. Inigo and I are gonna enjoy this girl for a bit!"

Upon saying this, Granberia ran away, trying to escape. Inigo blocked her exit, moving in on her.

At this point, I had ceased any cognitive functioning.

I was a cruel maelstrom of violence, a dark, black aura emanating from me, the inky substance dying my eyes a shade of clouded grey. My hair turned purely black, a darker shade than normal and I had lost my humanity by this point.

Inigo chuckled as he grabbed Granberia, who tried to struggle, "Let go of me! Please!"

"You'll sell for a fair bit of coin..." Keigo commented, as he helped restrain her.

I howled like a wild animal, "The only thing you'll be sellin' is your organs on the black market!"

At this point, I sped forward at almost inhuman speed. Ren was unable to flee as I killed him with my blade. Ran and Rin were both quickly felled with a blow from my pipe.

Len jumped forward, attacking with a baseball bat. He sent it into my leg. The ensuing pain was agonizing, but I paid it no mind. I stabbed Len in the eye. Once he died, I retrieved my weapon, glaring at Dorrick, Keigo, and Inigo, "You guys... The instigators! The men who made me watch..."

Dorrick stepped back, fear revealed by his tears, "I didn't sign up for this, Keigo!"

Keigo laughed, "Oh, but you ravished his little girlfriend when it was convenient. Man up and fight him!"

Dorrick shook his head, "No way, man! I'll just surrender!"

Granberia finally kicked Inigo away from her and tried to run, "You little whore...!"

Dorrick turned to me, "Hey, man, please! I give, I give! Let me live and I'll fuck off out of here! Never commit a crime again!"

I smiled, nodding, "Afraid your mom will cry tears over your corpse? No worries... They won't be able to identify the body..."

Dorrick fled from the situation, but he would never be quick enough. Keigo nodded to Inigo, who stood behind as Keigo moved after Granberia, chasing her even further down the way.

Grabbing the chain, I whipped it around Dorrick's leg, knocking him down. He was screaming now, pleading for his life, but I had no mercy left. I killed him swiftly before turning back on Inigo, who was dancing on his feet, much like a boxer.

Inigo laughed as I moved towards him, another kill on my hands, "Where has your gentle side gone, now? Just a little violation and murder, and you want to fight us to the death?"

I didn't respond for a long time, "Who told you to do this?"

He didn't answer for a moment, "Only Keigo knows that, son. You wanna know? Get past me!"

Inigo showed off a flurry of unarmed combat moves, proving he was more than capable of fending me off in a fair fight.

I chucked my knife, wishing I was the Ultimate Lucky Student. Komaeda must have blessed me on this day, since my attack ended up hitting him in the groin. As he screamed in pain, I quickly ran and clubbed him in his jaw, knocking the bottom half off of his face. I was disgusted by this and violently puked. I wiped my mouth off and quickly steadied myself.

When I looked up, I noted that Granberia and Keigo were at the end of the nearest dock runway, towards where the boats were boarded.

Granberia was standing by the edge, the cold, black water in front of her, rain pouring now.

Keigo giggled like a super villain as he walked up behind her, "Inigo's killed that boy. And he won't stop me from doing what I do best... Such a cute young girl like you, stealing from the Grave Dangers? How pitiful... I'll be sure to break you thoroughly before I end your life."

Granberia had nowhere to run, "Please...Noooooo!"

"Should have thought it through before stealing from me, you worthless whore!" As he said this, he must have noticed my presence, "Shinji, I presume? My brother was not enough to hold you back, was he?" He turned to me, pulling out a small handgun, "That's suitable. I'll just shoot your brains out and be done with it."

I growled at him, "Why!? Why did you do this!?" I wanted to kill Keigo so badly, but even more, I wanted to know the truth behind Jun's murder.

Keigo rolled his eyes, "Why would I tell you?" he sighed, "Well, maybe I'll throw the bitch a bone for killing my whole crew," he pointed towards me with his gun, "A member of Ultimate Despair paid us off, told us to target her specifically. Making you watch was just a bonus, really. But it was great! The best fun I've ever had, outside of drowning that bag of puppies!"

I stood there, unable to answer, "Ultimate Despair?"

"A crazy psycho, to be sure. Won't tell you anything more than that," he readied the trigger, "Dead men don't tell tales."

As he prepared to shoot, Granberia beat him in the back of the head with a large rock she had found, knocking him to the ground. She then began beating his face in, "You dirty! Sick! Monster! Fucking! Degenerate! Die!" After dealing a lot of damage and permanently scarring his face, she was knocked off by him.

He stood up, clutching what was left of his face, "You fuckin' bitch... I'll kill you with my bare hands..."

"Walk," I pointed his own gun at him, "Back to where we met. Now. Or you'll be the one in Grave Danger."

Reluctantly, he began walking, and I motioned for Granberia to follow behind me, "Come on, now. It's alright."

Soon we found ourselves back where this battle had started. Granberia sat down next to a trash can, rocking herself back and forth, trying to calm herself down. Keigo's blood was all over her hands.

Keigo ran to his brother, and was disappointed by his discovery, "Inigo! God damn, you really did kill him..."

"How does despair taste?" I said as I walked up to him, using his gun to blow out both of his kneecaps, "Tell me how it tastes."

Keigo looked up at me, defiantly, as if daring me to push further, "Make me."

"Why!? Why did Ultimate Despair target her!?" I whipped him with his own pistol.

Keigo cried out in pain as I hit him hard, "To make you fall into despair! That's what that crazy bitch told us! Orders from one of the leader's own disciples! An Ultimate at the Academy, alright!?"

I moved in on him, "Why did you agree, hm?"

"The money, man! It was all about the money!" Keigo pleaded with me, "Let me live, man! I can change! I'll give you whatever you need, whatever you want! You can even have that girl to yourself! I can help you break her in! I've done it before! Mind breaking slaves is my specialty!"

"Modern day slavery, as well? You sick bastard," I commented, my hatred for him even stronger.

Keigo put his hands together, "Man, come on! Just a little trainin', and she'll be a better lay than your slut girlfriend ever was!"

I tossed the gun aside and picked up my iron pipe, "What...the fuck... did you just say about Jun?" I moved in as Keigo whimpered, before he started screaming.

What happened next was... Gruesome.

When I had finished my work, I could no longer recognize Keigo's worthless face. I dropped the knife and pipe, looking down at my hands.

What had I just done...? I had become a total monster.

The pain of the wounds inflicted on me began to sear, and I nearly fell over. Then I turned and saw Granberia, horribly shaken up by the whole scenario.

I walked over, tears in my eyes. I was broken. I was a sick person, one who just murdered thirteen people. I could never forgive myself. But I could do one last thing before I die.

I sat in front of this poor, scared girl, and I hugged her, "It'll be alright... No one will hurt you now..."

We cried there, both of us horrified at our own actions, until the police arrived to investigate the gunshots. I made sure Granberia fled the scene, and I stabbed myself with my knife to force them to abandon their search for her temporarily.

This was the horrible event that led to me accepting the invitation to Hope's Peak. To get out of being charged, my family had struck a deal with the academy. They wanted my talent for social experimentation, and I had no right to refuse. Kiyo urged me, saying he wanted me to live on, for him. He and Takuro wished me well, trying to reassure me that I hadn't done an evil thing. I wanted to believe that they wouldn't lie to me, but my guilt hung over me like a noose as I boarded that train.

And here we are...

All these painful memories came flooding back to me, all at once, overflowing my mind with powerful emotions.

Before I knew it, I was crying, "Oh god... Jun... She was..."

Granberia noticed my change of demeanor, "Did you... really forget?" She was clearly fazed by my massive attitude shift.

I looked up into her blue eyes, remember when they were filled with tears that fateful evening, "Granberia... You were forced to attack Keigo... They were going to..."

Granberia took a step back, "You...remember now? What happened? How we're connected?" she lowered her guard and put the knife away, "Every one of us had met one other person before arriving here, and it seemed we were paired. I didn't originally notice why you felt familiar, when you tended Panterbell."

I wasn't able to speak very clearly, trying to keep from sobbing in despair, "You... Forgot it a bit too, huh? And when you remembered the scum I was... You set this up to kill me, right?"

Granberia vehemently shook her head, "I was scared. Either you had forgotten, too, or you were purposefully hiding it. If it was the latter, you might have been planning a murder... But if it was the former..."

"Why take the chance?" I turned over onto my back, "Even if I forgot... I'm a monster. How could you trust me...? Killing me would be a much better way of handling this..." I coughed, as crying so hard eventually made it hard for me to breathe.

Granberia shook her head once more, "I could never... Not if you really..."

I laughed, "Even back then, you trusted me a bit too much..." I lifted my head, "If you want me to die... As much as I do right now... Give me the knife. That way, you won't be executed. We'll know the culprit, and the ensuing trial will be pretty efficient."

Granberia moved away from me and put it into a special lock box, "Absolutely not. Now that I have confirmed you are not a threat, I have no need of killing you..."

I sighed heavily, "Figures... Make me remember the most horrific events in my life, then make me live with 'em."

Granberia crouched down next to me, tissue in hand, wiping my tears away, "We have to move on, Shinji. You especially."

As she said this, I felt like I was blushing just then, but I didn't admit to anything, "T-thanks for your concern, Granberia. I... It means a lot."

Granberia helped me stand up, and she looked me directly in the eye, "Promise me you won't harm yourself over this."

I awkwardly laughed, "What, afraid you'll lose this fine piece of Romantic?"

She clearly was not amused, "If I have to alert the others to keep watch on you..."

I patted her on the head, rubbing her hair, "Yeah, yeah, I understand. Granberry. I'll behave myself, I promise." I was amused as she angrily pouted, but she certainly did not refuse my head pats, "Can we hang out normally now? I need something to cheer me up... I'm sure you do, to."

Granberry thought about it for a second, and she finally nodded, "I do owe you, after all. Let's go to the lounge and get some drinks. I want to hear more about you, and Jun," she added, "If that's not too forward of me to ask..."

I gave her a firm handshake, "Deal, let's go!"

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 _ **Despair Fragment 1# Created!**_

 _ **Woah, look out! Despair Fragments are very horrible objects! Despair Fragments will be created when traumatic events occur! Once created, they can be obtained at a later date! Gather all six and you will unleash the memories of the Ultimate Despair in the resort, reverting them to their original self!**_

 _ **Except they're not an optional item to obtain! Upupupupupupupupupupupupu!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

I found myself in a really bad emotional state for a couple of days after regaining the memories I had lost when I began taking my extra medications. I had decided not to take those memory suppressants anymore, and wondered if that was how our memories were stolen from us.

Granberia was the only person who knew the true story behind Jun's death, as I found it far too painful and depressing a topic to broach to Shinju and the others. She was my only Companion who knew this secret.

Since the incident, though, she had really brightened up, acting more cheerful and honest. Her lost memories and fear of me had presented her with her own set of issues, but we had been working dutifully to overcome that.

This time, Granberia had insisted on seeing my room, as I had seen hers in all of its splendor. My room was mostly empty, though.

Granberia casually sat on my bed, not caring at all about any possible implications in doing so, "Weird, yours is comfier than mine. Wouldn't mind sleeping in this bed." she thought about what she said for a second, "Oh, wait! No!"

"Not the first person to say something like that in here," I dryly commented, "I'm certain you're aware by now the situation I've found myself in."

Granberia chuckled, giving off a childish nature she normally didn't show anyone, let alone me, "Yes, Shinju has complained many a time of the Legendary Man whore. Then there was your duel with Mayu, and I heard you cosplayed with Shizue."

I nodded, "Thank God that's all you know about."

Granberia noticed my slip of the tongue, "There's more than that? Care to let me know? I'm curious, now."

Cursing my damned loose tongue, I admitted, "Well, I went on an adventure with Koneko in that forest area. Nothing weird, just had to deal with a wild animal. Nari and I have found some things in common, so we hang out, play games, that kind of thing."

"Play games?" Granberia had also gotten into the habit of playfully teasing me, taking my relationship troubles as one big joke for her to play with, "Two player games, or can I join in?"

Well, fuck. I scratched the back of my head, not wanting to answer that so nonchalantly, "You would have to ask Nari herself... I'm not the decision maker..."

Granberia laughed at me, amused, "How about we ask her later? If you're not too scared..."

I gulped, sitting on my bed next to her, afraid of saying anything that would out me, "Sure thing. I don't have a problem with it, really... I'm willing to put up with just about anything at this point..."

Granberia nodded, knowing quite well my reputation, "Yes, I have heard that as of late. I wonder how far you would be willing to go for me?"

I chuckled, "Greedy, are we? I already told you basically everything about Jun and I... I mean, I suppose I didn't talk that much about myself, but... I don't find myself that interesting, really."

Granberia decided to address a darker topic, "One thing I have to ask... This might hurt to bring up, but... What were you and Jun doing, headed to the docks at 8 at night? Did you have a meeting, a date?"

She was right. Bringing that up seriously hurt, but that might be a clue into the incident. I roused myself to my feet and walked over to my dresser drawers, opening the top right drawer, "The truth was... I just wanted to give her a present, for her birthday."

"A present?" Granberia tilted her head, "Why go so far out of the way for something like that?"

I smirked, thinking of more self-deprecating thoughts, "I wanted the mood to be just right." I picked up a small box out of my drawer and walked over, presenting it to her, "This."

Granberia gently picked the small little box out of my hand, "It's so tiny!"

"Don't call it Tim. That's trademarked," I added.

Instead of responding to my weirdness, she opened it up and saw the surprise I met for Jun on that fateful day. A gold ring. On it were the words 'My First, True Love', engraved in silver on the outside, "You..."

"Saved up all my money for it," I explained, "Sure, we were still high schoolers, but I... I couldn't imagine my life without her... I was going to ask if she wanted to get married when we graduated... Guess I..." I started tearing up again, "I was just too slow on the draw."

I walked away from her, placing my hands on the dresser, "You brought this with you to Hope's Peak...?" Granberia was sounding a bit shaken up by the sound of her voice.

I turned around and slumped to the floor, wiping the tears out of my eyes, "All I had left to remember her by. My parents never approved of us, and when they found out, they nearly disowned me. Told them to take my stuff and shove it up their own arses, if they could pull their heads out long enough."

Granberia placed the ring back into the box and walked over, handing it to me. As I put it back in its drawer, she asked, "So you don't even have a home anymore?"

"I never truly felt like I ever did... Home is where you're happy, right? Feel safe?" she nodded, "Then I can't say I've had one."

Granberia was speechless at this point, so she just seated herself back on my bed, deep in thought.

I walked in front of her and crouched to meet her gaze, "Now I'm a wash of a school here, stuck with a bunch of people whose lives are more valuable than mine. People that I've come to know and like. And in some cases, love," I hesitated, "Not that I could ever admit to it. If I did, and one of you got taken from me... If that happened again..."

Granberia hugged me close to her, patting my head as she spoke, "Last time, you were there for me... I've got you now. I promise I won't get killed or kill anyone. I'll be here with you through it all..."

With everything I had been through, that must have been exactly what I needed to hear, as I stayed in her embrace.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

The night after I revealed my battle with the Grave Dangers to everyone, I heard a knock outside of my cottage door. I expected Shinju to come knocking, but I was surprisingly wrong this time.

Granberia stood there, in her black skirt and stocking, her dark blue blouse still matching her outfit from Takumi's awkward double date last night, "Shinji, can I come in?"

"Of course," I opened the door and let her inside. I looked around, wondering if anyone was spying on us, and then I closed the door, "So, what's up?"

Granberia happily jumped onto my bed, resting on top of my covers, messing them up into a disarray, "I love this bed so much!"

I rolled my eyes, "Why don't you marry it?"

"I have other plans in mind," Granberia said softly, though I overheard her, "Trying to be witty, huh? That's just punderful of you." I cringed.

"At least make it somewhat classy," I replied, not very fond of her punishment, "Was there something the lady wanted to discuss? Or did you just want to show off that outfit again? Because if so... I approve."

Granberia shoved me off of the bed, and I tumbled to the floor, "Weirdo!" she laid down on top of it, her head peeking over the side to see me pose like one of her French girls, "Not that I mind all that much..."

I closed my eyes, laying on the soft carpeting, "If you just wanted to chill, that's fine, too."

Still hanging on the edge, Granberia hesitated for asking, "Do you regret telling them? Or not telling them the full story?"

I thought about it for a moment, "At first I was a bit anxious, but... Well, even if Monotaro told them that, they already know what I did. They have no need to know the full reason why."

Granberia turned over, looking at my ceiling, counting the tiles, "Yeah, I get that," She looked around my room, "We never talked much about me, huh?"

I sat up, "That's true. You always asked me stuff, but it's not like I minded. A guy likes a mysterious girl, you know? Why else did Naegi fall for Kirigiri so hard?"

She looked back at me, a silly look on her face, "You really paid attention to that? Well, I guess YOU would."

I pouted, "It is my talent, after all. I'm a sucker for romance," I scratched the nape of my neck, which oddly began to itch a bit, "That's just me, you know?"

Granberia sat up and edged to the end of the bed, looking down at me, "To tell you the truth, I mentioned I had a brother, remember?" I nodded, "Well, you might know him on a first name basis. It's Byakuya."

"WHAT!?" I would have stood up had I not been too comfortable, "You're a Togami!?"

Granberia motioned for me to quiet down, "I was! The Togami family has this inheritance system. We have to battle to earn our right to run the family name. Dad had children with a bunch of suitable women, and the kids were set to compete." she gave me a sad expression, as if these memories were not so fond of hers, "Eventually, I was pitted against Byakuya. I was a silver, known as the Dark One due to my thieving abilities, which I had discovered by accident playing hide and seek with my friends' toys. Byakuya, a mere bronze. We were challenged to fight in a certain duel, and I lost."

"What happens when you lose?" I asked.

"The family disowns you and strips you of your name. I lost my name and my right to it, so I ended up using a pseudonym that my friend Debido. He and I played some game together, and he chose that name for me, figured it fit pretty well," Granberia sighed, "I haven't seen him in years. I was thrown out at the age of 12, and it's been four...or more years since then. I have no last name, no home, no family. So in a ways, we have a lot in common."

"Maybe," I started to think on what she told me, "Except I like you more than I like myself."

Granberia had not expected me to say something like that, and as she moved to get up, she slipped off of the bed, falling on top of me. We met eye to eye, and she blushed, though whether it was because she was clumsy or embarrassed, I couldn't tell. Normally, I would have complained, but as I looked her in the eyes, I once again remembered how adorable she was. I got lost in her eyes as I leaned in to get a better look at her fair skin, which she must have taken care of regularly.

Granberia continued blushing furiously, but before I could move, she grabbed me and pulled me to her, kissing me roughly. My eyes widened in surprise as she held me close, and I could tell just from the way she clung to me that she was dedicated to following her thought through.

She finally pulled away from me, "That was... Thanks for saving me. I just thought..." Granberia quickly stood up and ran out, flinging my door open and running off into the night.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Since Granberia assaulted me with a kiss, she had been avoiding me, and any attempt from me to talk with her led to her fleeing in shame. Did she hate me now? Did she regret it? Was she just embarrassed?

Unable to think of any other option, I called the Council of Waifus.

Nari, Koneko, Shinju, Mayu, and Shizue all met me inside the hot springs, though this time they had bathing suits and wouldn't beat me up like that time with Kenji.

Shizue had her long pink hair flowing around her, still rocking her red and blue wet suit, which really clung to her body a bit too much. Nari's black bikini still made her look great, and Koneko was now happily wearing a yellow bikini, slapping the water with her extended claws.

Mayu wore a purple one piece, chosen by Shinju herself, which explained why it was a bit risque in how it didn't cover the shoulders or her thighs.

Shinju was still rocking her extremely lacking top and bottom, and at this point, she might as well go nude with how much was left to the imagination. A towel would have been a better cover, but I kept my mouth shut.

Shinju groaned, "Making us all gather here because he did something weird... You're a class act, manwhore."

I motioned for her to quiet herself, "Listen, I didn't ask you here for no reason. Granberia's been seriously avoiding me, and I'm starting to get worried about it. So I figured I'd let you all know and ask for your advice. I mean, you know how girls work better than I do..."

Nari pointed at me, "We're all individuals, jackass. If you expect us to know her any better than you do when you're her closest friend, what do you expect us to do?"

I spoke up, raising my voice, "I expect you not to bash me with a kendo blade! Or claw my body! Or scare me half to death going full Yandere! Or making me role play your weird fantasies!" As I said this, Nari quieted herself, "Or calling me a manwhore instead of hearing me out. If you don't wanna be here, Shinju, then leave. I don't have time for your tsundere treatment right now!"

Everyone quieted down, and Shinju finally responded, looking upset at how forceful I was being, "Alright, I get it. I'm too harsh to you... I don't even know why you bother to have me around..."

I walked up to Shinju and held her close to me, looking her in her beautiful green eyes, "Because you made my heart melt from the icy typhoon that covered it after I lost Jun..."

Shinju blushed wildly, but that didn't stop me from kissing her on her cheek and stepping back into the center, "Not like I meant to...Idiot."

Koneko giggled, "Aw, you love him."

Mayu nodded in agreement, "The tsun tsun is strong in this one!"

Shinju huffed once more, pouting with her cheeks puffed out, "Who taught her that word?"

Shizue raised her hand, laughing excitedly, as she and Mayu had been spending time watching a lot of shows without me. Mayu, Shinju, and I still watched Inuyasha, though we had already moved on to the second series due to the first one ending on a cliffhanger.

"Anyways... Granberia's been avoiding me, and without disclosing too much, the last time we hung out..." I quickly explained what had gone on between us.

As I finished, Nari spoke up first, "I think I can understand what she's thinking," we looked to her, "You've clearly already ruined your whole life. I mean, the fact you can call a 'Council of Waifus' to discuss this is proof enough."

Shizue chimed, singing, "More than one waifu ruins your laifu!"

Mayu brushed it off, striking a cool pose, "That just proves Shinji is a real virile man! One who makes the ladies swoon to his skills! He has proven his honor, and he would not do any of us wrong."

"Hell, he asked us for advice on this," Shinju realized, "That means he's really serious about getting through to Granberia. So I say we give him the best advice we've got."

After that, we discussed for a bit, and they all agreed I could only wait for her to come to me. I thanked them and walked out, leaving them to their own discussion.

Little did I know...

 **Shinju's POV**

As the man I loved so dearly walked out, we waited until we heard the noise of him opening the boy's locker room with his card reader. Upon his departure, Granberia came out from behind the big rock.

"Man, what a sucker. Didn't even search the place..." Granberia walked up to our circle, "So, what are you thinking, Granberia? You wanted to know what he was doing to deal with your cold shoulder... He pulled out the big guns. Asking all of us here..."

Granberia didn't know what to say, "I didn't think he'd miss me that much... When I kissed him...I... I felt so wrong, like I had done that without approval. I was too ashamed to show my face, but..."

Mayu put her hand on Granberia's shoulder, "I think you know how he feels now. Just talk to him when you can."

Granberia nodded in confirmation.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

The very next day, I decided not to leave my cottage. I sat down at the desk provided in my room, writing a story, partially based on my experiences here so far. I decided they would be my records that would be left in case something were to happen to me.

I was writing in them again, discussing the meeting that I had last night and saying what I honestly felt about everything. I had told the others at breakfast that I wanted isolation, but apparently it wouldn't be left at that.

Despite specifying that I wished to be alone today, I heard a knock at the door. I wasn't excited to check, but I did so, opening the door. Granberia stood there in her dark outfit, the one I admit I liked a bit too much.

She gazed into my eyes a bit, as if distracted, "Can I come in, Shinji? I want to speak with you..."

I nodded, "I've always got time for you, Granberia."

She stepped inside, sitting on my bed, "Okay, I know I've been avoiding you after I did that, and I wanted to apologize for both. I kissed you out of line, and I took it out on you by running away, embarrassed. I could have really hurt your feelings."

I walked up to her, "Out of line? What's that supposed to mean?"

Granberia really seemed upset at this, "You already have... people to love. But knowing that, I still tried to..."

I crouched in front of her, "Granberia, I need to tell you something. You stole from me."

Granberia seemed confused, and she tilted her head, "I did? I don't..."

I whispered gently into her ear, "My heart," I kissed her, finally responding to her in the way I would have before.

I parted, and she was a deep shade of red, "But you-"

I placed my hand on my hip, "Girl, I've already got a council of girls that I love. That love me back. If we could work that out, would they really mind one more?"

"Really? You think you can balance the six of us?" Granberia laughed, "You are a manwhore, huh?"

"Hmph," I walked over to my dresser and opened it up, pulling what I needed out, "This here is my response." I placed the ring box on top of the dresser, "Jun has passed, but my love for her will never diminish..."

Granberia walked up behind me, "You're going to carry your feelings for her forever, huh?"

I nodded, "That's the way of a Romantic. But just because I still feel that way towards her... I have _never_ treated you, anyone, as a backseat rider," I turned and walked up to Granberia, holding her hands in mine as I kneeled before her, kissing her hand, "I may be a fool, and maybe I'm a manwhore, but I love you, Granberia. Just as I love Shinju, and Mayu, and Shizue, and Nari, and Koneko, and Jun. All for different reasons, but all the same."

Granberia was speechless, though whether it was because of what I had said or the situation itself, I couldn't decipher, "... You really know what to say to make a girl happy, huh?"

I laughed, "No... I just know how to make the ones I love happy... Before I came here, I only had three people in my life of any status, two friends and Jun. And now..." I thought to myself for a moment, "If any of you ever want more, if you need someone wholeheartedly committed to you, I want you to know I'll support your eventual decision. But either way, I will always love you and do my best to be there for you, for all of you."

I walked over to the front door, "Shinji? What are you...?"

I quickly pulled the door inside, and five girls plummeted into my room, crashing into each other on their way down, "Even the slores who eavesdropped this entire conversation."

Granberia and I laughed, our hearts light as we both managed to resolve the communication errors between us and just be honest. Little did these six girls know I was planning to prove what I had said, and I was making something very special for all of them.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Infinite Flames". Facing your past and trying to move past it with the support of your beloved Granberry allows you the ability to destroy white noise with ease, dominating the battlefield.**

 **You have been awarded Granberia's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	12. Emiko's Free Time Events

Author's Note: There are lots of references in this one to all kinds of stuff, including past free time events. This chapter is most certainly an adult one, though for ... different reasons than the last. Didn't expect for this chapter to end like that, but that's half the fun! :3 Sorry for the wait, but it's finally BACK ON TRACK. I hope.

 _ **Free Time Events with Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Emiko was vastly different in comparison to the others. While some were reluctant to open up to me, Emiko was enthusiastic about the whole bonding idea Nico came up with, and she was even the one who invited me out, to spend time with her and Nari.

Specifically, she said I might be able to move Nari emotionally in such a way to lower her guard around the rest of us, and though I felt she had given me too much credit, I decided to give her theory a chance.

Nari had certainly been rough around the edges when she got here, and while her very antagonistic relationship with Kenji provided some form of comic relief from the dire situation we had found ourselves in, only Shinju had been successful so far in convincing her to interact with anyone outside of Emiko.

Emiko, on the other hand, had befriended virtually everyone except Takeshi, and even on that front she tried her hardest to include him in group events. I began to suspect he was only grudgingly humoring us for her sake.

The duo provided an interesting dynamic for the rest of us. The only other people as close were Satoshi and Kibou, who maintained businesslike professionalism in public, and Yoshikazu and Hanako, both in no position to express their bonds easily, due to crippling shyness and a sense of duty.

One thing I was particularly aware of was of my first alone talk with Emiko, where she displayed a very melancholy side of herself, one that I wondered if Nari even knew existed. I kept this in mind as I visited the two of them in the park.

The two girls were sitting comfortably at the park bench, the two of them discussing something that I didn't particularly want to ask about. Emiko's long black hair flowed in the light wind, her purple sundress still worn well. Her gold locket reflected sunlight, nearly blinding me.

Nari noticed me, though she decided not to even acknowledge my presence. Even with her attitude, she looked quite beautiful in her sailor uniform, neatly dressed and kept to a seriously terrifying level of perfection. Emiko had said that Nari demanded nothing but the best from her uniform, her classmates, her coworkers, anything. Clearly she wasn't exaggerating.

Emiko finally noticed me and excitedly waved, moving her hand so fast back and forth that I was worried it might fall right off onto the ground like a part of a mannequin. _Creepy fuckers, those are..._

I finally caught up to where they were, seating myself across from them, waving my hand, "Yo."

Nari cleared her throat in an attempt to signal something.

"Oh, right. Excuse my rudeness. Salutations, Nari, Emiko. I am quite pleased to be able to spend time with the two of you..." I bowed in reverence.

Nari scoffed, "Wow, way to be sarcastic. Would it kill you to present yourself in a proper manner without such a rude tone?"

Emiko rolled her eyes and elbowed her friend in the shoulder, lightly prodding her, "Come on, Nari! Don't be such a stick in the mud! You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, you know?"

Nari crossed her arms, turning away from me to glare at her compatriot, "Flies are disgusting filth that I'd rather not attract at all, thank you very much."

"Thanks for your kind words," I gave her the snarkiest, fakest smile I could manage, "Simply gracing me with your beauty is enough to warrant this verbal lashing." I was joking, of course. Mostly.

This must have reminded Emiko of what she wanted to do, "Right, right! Bonding! Getting to know each other!"

Nari groaned, clearly voicing her displeasure.

Emiko ignored her and began her story, "So my story's a bit boring in comparison to what I've heard from the others! When I was younger, I was a really good artist. They say the magic I could do with a brush and paint was breathtaking. I don't really remember it all too well. I first met Nari in our art class, and I always did my best to help her out!"

Nari nodded, a faint smile on her face, "She wouldn't leave me alone, more like. I never got on well with most of the others; I didn't like wasting my time with stupid people."

"Nari was always a bit of a grump," Nari glared at Emiko, but she ignored it, "Skip ahead a couple of years, and I was involved in a car accident! Broke my arm, my painting arm no less. Never could paint again!"

Nari's smile faded away, and she slumped in her chair, "She was coming over to my house for a sleepover... My mother ended up crashing the car. We were fine, but Emiko..."

Emiko shrugged, "I keep telling Nari not to worry about it, but she holds herself guilty all the time!"

Nari responded angrily, "My only friend had her talent ruined because of my drunken mother! Because she went out banging dudes the night before! Of course I feel guilty!"

Normally, I would have commented in an attempt to diffuse the situation, but I knew little of their dynamics yet, so I abstained.

Emiko ignored Nari's anger and quickly forged ahead, "I'd have to get major surgery to fix my arm correctly, but my parents were poor. So I took up babysitting jobs to raise the money myself. Around this time, we entered high school, and I found my interest in psychology! Soon, I began applying it to my work, and I somehow ended up getting the talent I currently have."

Nari sighed, "Emiko's also the reason I found mine. She nagged me to work with her. She knew I had money issues. I like to purchase...rare items and the like. Personal effects. So Emiko and I would take half. She would take care of the younger kids, and I would tutor them if they needed help in school. I had a knack for it."

"It was hard for us to hang out by then, what with school work and my job. We finally got to bond again like we did as younger girls!" Emiko exclaimed, trying to wrap this story up happily.

I nodded, "Makes sense. You guys certainly have a strong bond. May it keep you both going strong in the days to come. I have a feeling this journey of ours is going to be a long and arduous one."

Emiko leaned over the table, getting her face really close to mine. Was she totally unaware of what personal space was? "And you? How did you come to find your talent, huh!?"

I hesitated for a moment, "My talent is crap, really, but I suppose how I discovered it is probably a really intriguing story for others. Unlike you two, I never had friends for most of my life. Not until high school did I meet the three people most important to me. Kiyo Isshiki, Takuro Ibara, and Jun Kasatani, my g-...my ex-girlfriend."

Emiko certainly must have picked up on that verbal tic of mine, but she didn't say anything, urging me silently to continue, as she sat back in her proper seat.

"Aw, what? Did she dump you? Was it because you're sarcastic and crude?" Nari started digging in at me, though I tried not to let it get to me.

"No, she... She was murdered," I admitted, not enjoying this story one bit.

That must have been what Nari least expected to hear, due to how poorly she adapted, "Of course, she got murdered. That's totally...What...?"

I tried my absolute hardest not to break out into tears and sadness at this point, "A group of thugs killed her... Most of my memory of what happened next is gone, blacked out. But amidst all the pain and suffering, the Academy offered me a chance to come here, and Kiyo pushed me to take it."

Nari was for once unable to make light of the situation, and she was at least kind enough not to mock me about this.

Emiko must not have expected this conversation to switch to something so depressing, "Well, I'm really sorry to hear that, Shinji."

"I'm sorry for you, too... Do you miss doing art?" I tried to derail the subject matter entirely and redirect it elsewhere.

Emiko brightened up at this, as if she expected me to forget or something, "Oh, at first! But really, the biggest reason I picked it up was to do commissions for my classmates, give them a smile. Now I can make people happy with my babysitting skills. I'm content with just making people happier."

Nari slumped onto the table, head on her hand as she propped her elbow up, "Isn't she just optimism incarnate? So great to be around this powerful Rainbow Hero..."

I nodded, and we moved on to more pleasant conversation. Nari eventually started lightening up, much to Emiko's excitement. Even I was a bit surprised with how Nari let her guard down around me, though I wasn't going to tease her about that. Yet.

Nari later saw us off, and Emiko asked me to accompany her to the library, "Oh, right! Forgot to mention... Don't bring up Nari's parents to her. As you know, her relationship with her mother is very strained. She got along well with her dad, but he..."

I wasn't sure I wanted to know, "You don't have to tell me..."

Emiko nodded, "Well, he killed himself. Shot himself in the head in front of the living room. Had to replace the wallpaper," I was somewhat sickened by how Emiko talked so freely of this traumatic event, "No worries, though. She's mostly over it, but try not to joke about that stuff, alright?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I promise. She'd have to upset me pretty hard to get me to pick fun at something like that... It's just wrong, really."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

Emiko may have been the only person as persistent as Shinju and I in befriending the others, though she had a considerably easier time than the two of us. Guys can be somewhat off putting, and Shinju could be a bit too forceful at times.

Once again, the Ultimate Babysitter had convinced Nari and I to meet her in the cafe at 4 PM, but I went into the library about a half hour earlier to read in my spare time. I had found an interesting book on Anthropology, the science and study of humans, and I had been taking time to read it in my spare time alone. After finishing a chapter, I signed it back in and walked towards the front door.

As I was walking out, I noticed Yoshikazu and Emiko seated at a table on the bottom floor. I walked over, curious, "Hey, Emiko. Kaz. What's up?"

Emiko waved, "Oh, nothing much. Trying to analyze Yoshikazu here better. He's basically immune to my psych skills."

Yoshikazu shrugged, something he very rarely did, "I do not understand what she means by all that. I am just being myself, but she says I send confusing nonverbal signals."

I chuckled, "The man who defies psychological evaluation. Nice. I'll see you in a bit, Emiko." I walked off, heading to the cafe. I expected it to be empty, and it was. I seated myself at my favorite table after making a small shake, casually sipping it while grinding for gold in a certain game involving dragons and questing. Good thing I got to bring my handhelds... Though they had no Internet service here, for obvious reasons.

The world may have ended, but at least we could still entertain ourselves. In some ways, our lives here might even be paradise compared to the outside world. If only Monotaro would give us more information about the Future Foundation, and this resort.

"Playing your games again, I see? Someone enjoys wasting time," I looked up to see Nari walk inside, giving me her usual attitude.

I quickly saved and exited the game, thankful that I was in church when she arrived, "Well, excuse me for killing time waiting to hang out with two lovely young ladies."

Nari rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Keep trying, manwhore. Put some effort into it."

"Damn it, Shinju..." I sighed, "I don't care if she calls me that, but I haven't done anything. I just enjoy talking with everyone here. But eff me, right? What am I doing, wanting friends? What kind of loser am I?"

Nari added, "The worst kind, the forever alone virgin kind, obviously," she decided to be extra cruel, "If Jun hadn't been killed, she probably was going to dump you after."

That hurt, a lot, "There are things that are okay. Here's a chart..." I drew a small circle and labeled it, "Here is what is not okay," I made a dot further out, "And what you did...is right here." I made a dot nearly off of the side of the page to demonstrate how messed up what she just said was.

She didn't show any signs of caring, "Did I hurt your whore feelings?" she laughed, "I certainly hope so. You're a total sham, and I hate fake bitches. You piss me off more than Kenji does."

"Total sham?" I was a bit perplexed by what she meant with that.

"You act all nice and friendly, but you're probably a pathetic loser who whines when he's ignored. Terrified of being alone, right? So you try to force yourself into other groups to avoid the inevitable realization that you are all alone in this world," Nari must have done a lot of thinking to target me in such a particular way, "So did I hit the nail on the head?"

She was beginning to piss me off, "Emiko's right, you know. Being a total bitch isn't going to win you any awards. Nari Kawasaki, the legendary Ultimate Bitch prophesied by bitch monks on Bitch Mountain, born under the Bitch Moon."

"Ohhh, so original! I've never heard a joke like that before!" Nari shot back, "I didn't need your pathetic comeback, and if I did, I'd get it off of Jun's corpse."

...

...

...

I stood up, staring right into her eyes, "Excuse me. I must have misheard you. I thought you said your drunk slut of a mother nearly killed the only person in the world who can tolerate your insufferable cunty self, and I'm certain you didn't mean to say that. Care to rephrase?"

Nari slapped me without hesitation, the loud sound echoing out across the entire room, "How dare you!"

"Ohoho, how dare I!?" I was really angry at this point, "I'm not the one making fun of dead people! Or do you want me to talk mad shit about that, too!?" Nari glared at me as I said this, "...No. I won't... That would be an insult to your father."

Nari stepped back, aghast, "Why did...You know...?"

"Emiko went out of her way to tell me so I wouldn't bring it up accidentally," I admitted, "She really cares for you... Plus, I promised not to mention it, and I broke that... I guess I'll just see myself out." I began walking past her.

Nari must not have expected that, because it quieted her, "You're leaving?"

I stopped for a moment, "Why waste time on a fake bitch, right? Especially not someone who sinks so low..."

"Shinji..." She said my name aloud, not with hate or malice, but confusion? "I..."

I turned around, looking at her, though she didn't face me, as if she was completely ashamed of her actions, "...I need to ask. Why did you become so hostile? Last we met, you didn't make any jokes about Jun, so why now? If I offended you in some way..."

Nari just stared at the ground, depressed and disheartened, "...Emiko was worried about you. Thought you seemed off, like you had a screw loose. So she asked me to make you angry, see what you would do. I wasn't sure, but she said it's important to know how to interact with you..."

"Ah, I see. Emiko used you as bait to draw out my anger, gauge my reaction," I nodded in understanding, "That's...that's fucked up. Even more so after what she told me. She must have expected me to mock you over your father's death..."

Nari slumped down to the floor, barely sitting up, "And I said such horrible things..."

I laid back onto the floor next to her, "Yeah, but it's not too different from what I expect from you. You're known for your sharp tongue and quick wit. Even made Takumi cry himself to sleep a couple of times."

Nari must not have considered that as sufficient for cheering up over hearing, "You could try a little harder than that to make me feel better, you know..."

"Maybe I like that side of you," I honestly answered, "Guess I'm a bit of a masochist. Huh." Wouldn't have expected that.

Nari glanced over at me, "So, what should we tell Emiko?"

Checking the clock, I noticed it was about 15 minutes past 4, "She's late, and probably on purpose. I imagine she wanted to give me sufficient time to storm out. Or kill you. Who knows?"

"K-kill me?" Nari stuttered as she said that. The very thought must have terrified her.

"I could have pulled a Mondo, you know," I joked, "Not even realized what I'd done 'til I did. Then you'd be a shambling corpse and I'd get buttered up."

She glared at me, "You know you're not being funny right now, right?"

I shrugged, "I'm a casual pleb, babe. What can I do?"

"Babe?" Nari gave me a disapproving and confused look all at once.

"I think she's a total babe, too," Emiko surprised us as she walked in, "Uh, why are you guys on the floor?" She noticed some of the condiments placed onto the table we had sat at were now strewn on the floor when Nari shook it in her rage, "Why are there bottles of ketchup and mustard on the floor?"

I stood up and gave Nari an evil smirk, "Oh, we got into an argument and then had some pretty violent angry sex on the table there. I'm exhausted, so I'll talk to you girls later," As I walked out, I could practically hear Nari's teeth grinding, "It's a joke. Don't take it so hard! Unless you prefer..." I snickered, running off before she could murder my face in.

 _ **Nari's POV**_

That crafty bastard ran off, and I realized that must have been punishment for what I had said earlier. I nodded to myself, giving him the win this time. Next time, I'd be sure to crush him.

Despite the fact that what he accused us of doing was so totally obviously not true and never would be, Emiko gave me a suspicious look, "Nari, I told you to make him angry. Not give the man Nari's wild ride," she winked, "So how was it?"

"We didn't do anything of the sort!" I felt my cheeks flush, and I could easily have been mistaken for a liar, due to how violently I refuted her accusations, "Look, I made him mad, and then he... Well, we called to a truce. He didn't want to get into an argument with me like that... He was certainly mad, and he took shots at my mother, but I suppose he couldn't bring himself to mock my dad..."

Emiko put her finger to her lips, "Hm, interesting. I thought for certain he'd jump on the chance. Looks like I need to gather more data on him," she pulled out a notebook, her handy dandy one, and jotted down everything at a quick speed, "These Ultimates sure are interesting..."

I sighed, "Nico probably didn't mean perform experiments when he asked us to bond with each other, Emiko... And stop using me as a guinea pig!" I was still angry at her over that, "Making me say such things... The look on his face was just... Depressing. Like I shot his dog."

Emiko sat down, folding her legs as she continued writing, "Yes, yes, fine. No more purposefully making people angry or depressed. I'll do things differently..."

I sat in the chair across from her, watching her for any signs she was lying, since I was always good at reading her, "I see. That better be the end of it, then."

"You told him, didn't you?" Emiko didn't even bother looking up, "That's why he left? And why he revealed your affair?"

She was clearly just trying to get a rise out of me, "Stop teasing me, damnit! We didn't do anything!" I took in a deep breath to calm down, "Yes, I did. He asked me why I was being so cruel to him, and I don't think he'd ever speak to me again if I hadn't told him the truth."

Emiko laughed at this, and I had half a mind to slap her, "No worries on that front! Haha! Isn't it obvious that he likes you?"

"W-what are you t-talking about!?" I exclaimed, mostly in surprise.

"Well, he didn't knock your lights out, firstly," She noticed I was about to counter that argument and cut me off, "He's beaten up Takumi before due to his eccentricities. He also held no mercy when he battled Mayu with kendo blades. I wish I had been there to see it, but I heard he was quite brutal. I am very excited to see their rematch this weekend coming up."

"So he's okay..." I started.

Emiko nodded, "He's not one of those 'I can't hit a girl even if she's stabbing me to death' kind of people. I'm certain that if Takumi had been a girl, Shinji would still likely beat him up for his crimes."

I folded my arms, likely some kind of thoughtful expression on my face, "And you think that him not getting riled up with me is enough to prove anything significant? I'm ashamed, Emiko. I thought you were more studious than that."

She would definitely take that as a challenge, "Then you also did not notice how he's very kind to you despite your abuse."

"He said he likes it, in a weird kind of way," I replied.

"More like he likes when you do it. Shinju treats him very similarly at times, but he teases her right back. You though, he takes it with a smile and a nod. Why the different dynamic?" Emiko hypothesized, "More so, in our first interaction with him, he would take glances at you when he believed neither of us were looking. And unless you had something on your face, I'd suggest it was some variation of infatuation."

I scratched the side of my head, "Alright, alright. Maybe you DO have a point, but... It's not like I'd care either way," I calmly brushed off her assumptions.

Emiko put her notebook down, "Really, Nari? Trying to lie to me?" My mouth went agape as she outright called me a liar, "The only two people here you tolerate are Shinji and Shinju. Even your first interactions with both of them would suggest you have a preference for them. Not to mention you've taken glances at both of them when you believed they were unaware as well," Emiko smirked triumphantly, "So why haven't you told either of 'em? Afraid they might look down their nose at your "hobbies"?"

At this, I must have turned the deepest shade of red anyone had ever seen, "Emiko, shut the front door about that! Immediately!"

She gave way, "Alright. Calm down. I'm merely joking..." she moved her attention back to her notepad, "Now that my hypothesis is that he likes you, I can certainly run the next test with ease..."

I glared at her, "What are you planning this time?"

Emiko laughed, "It's a seeeeeecret!" She winked, making me even more worried.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

 _ **Emiko's POV**_

Operation: Seek and Destroy the Manwhore Begins! Great plan name, Emiko! I know right? High five! ...Awkward. High fiving yourself, very awkward. Shaking my head, I crept my way up to Shinji's cottage door, planning my super awesome plan! I had to test him once more, to see if I could allow him to be anywhere near my precious Nari!

I reluctantly but excitedly knocked on the door, holding my breath.

 _ **Shinji's POV**_

It was getting late when I heard that fateful knock on my door. Who could it be at this hour?

I opened up the door and Emiko greeted me, somewhat frightening me, "Hey, Shinji! Can I come inside!?"

I noticed she was dressed in a fine red dress, as if she dressed up for this occasion. I thought to myself about how this bitch in the red dress might be a problem for me, "Yeah, you can. I don't discriminate... Even if someone tries to play me like a golden fiddle down in Georgia..."

Emiko must have noticed what I was referring to, "Ooh, can I have your soul?" She looked disappointed when I shook my head, "Awe! I almost doubled my count!"

"Why would you want my soul, anyways? What, you a demon or something?" I decided to try and make a joke.

"House Gremory forever!" She shouted, striking a cool pose, "Wait, no! That's not the point!"

I plopped down on the side of my bed, giving her a glare, "Are you here to try and break me again? I don't much appreciate it."

"That's like saying you could care less. That means you do, even a little," Emiko used her knowledge of language to annoy me a bit more, "There's a reason I did that, silly billy! I needed to know what kind of man you are!"

"You could have just watched me without doing what you did," I was honestly hurt that she stooped to such a severe and drastic action.

Emiko laughed it off, "Well, when people are in love, they do silly things!"

I sighed, "Yeah, I guess..." Wait, what?

Emiko stepped closer to me, looking me in the eyes. I felt uncomfortable with how she was staring at me, "You heard me, Shinji! I like you, and I just wanted to make sure you'd never hurt me! Now that I know that..." She tried to jump on me, but I quickly rolled out of the way.

"Don't just jump me!" I complained, standing up straight, "I'm not one for surprise attacks!"

Emiko frowned at this development, "Come on, Shinji! Show me the love you do the other girls..."

"I can't," I quickly and bluntly shot her down, "For multiple reasons."

"What, are you afraid? I'm sure the others won't mind..." She tried to reason with me, but that was not the issue.

I had no course to take but to explain, "Emiko, I like you as a friend. Right? Not as... Not in that way. And even if you did like me, which I don't believe for a god dang second, I'm not going to fake feelings for you to keep you happy. That's the worst thing to do. And I'm not leaving you out to dry. Straight up, flat out, absolutely not."

Emiko didn't respond for a while, and I hoped I hadn't hurt her feelings, "You think I'm faking it...?"

"Another test, right?" I calmly responded, "I know your games now. I took psychology too."

"Well, shit..." I didn't expect her to be so blunt.

"As for my third reason, I'm trying to work out my feelings in general... What with Shinju... Shizue accosting me, Mayu battling me... I have my own issues to deal with as well, and I have so much planned with everyone else on top of that... Balancing everyone is hard to do." I further explained another reason why I refused her.

"So that's it, then?" Emiko asked, "I was doomed from the start?"

"But wait, there's more!" I shouted back, "For an easy order of 19.95, you too can break the bro code!" I laughed at my own impression, "No, but seriously, there's a dude here who likes you, for you. I'm not going to try and steal his waifu before he can even confess. Probably marry his daughter from the future, though," I added.

Emiko must have caught onto that joke as well, "Best Smash Girl?"

"Likely," I replied, keeping it ambiguous so as not to name drop our blue-haired heroine directly, lest Ninten-doh found us.

"I see..." Emiko laughed, much more genuinely than she had so far, "Well, fuck me. You found out my damn ruse like it was just a shitty magic trick." Her demeanor had vastly changed. Was she really like this? "Oy, calm down, wanker. I'm not secretly a foreigner or some gobshite blown in from Europe. I just enjoy my foreign shows. Understand? Ci? Que pasa?"

So much confusion hit me so fast, "No hablo espanol," I think that was correct, "Keep it local, okay?"

"Ah, I see. Hai. No problem, Goshujinsama, forgive my lack of tact," Emiko bowed in reverence, using even more mixed up sentences, "An dtuigeann tú Gaeilge?"

"Who speaks Gaelic outside of Ireland!?" I exclaimed, "Virtually no one!"

Emiko chuckled at this, and she continued showing off her knowledge of other languages, confusing me greatly. I recognized Latin and Hindu, but everything beyond that was so abstract or uncommon I couldn't even begin to guess what part of the globe she learned that from.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The things that I get myself roped into... First Shinju, then the cosplay disaster... Now I was on my way to meet Nari out at the library because she twisted my arm and guilted me into showing up. Maybe that duel with Mayu tomorrow night would end up killing me.

As I began my journey, I felt someone's presence, or I was being overly paranoid again. Afraid that I'd experience another full on Yandere experience, I slowly turned around, only to be greeted by a smiling Emiko, "Sup, bitch!?"

I hadn't expected to run into her there, "Emiko, how's it been?"

Emiko chuckled, "Fucking sugoi, Senpai!" What even...? "Sorry, need my serious face. I came to ask you about something you said when last we met!"

"Which part?" I was a bit afraid of what she would force out of me.

"Bro code... You said somebody likes me... What do you know?" If only I could whistle nonchalantly... I dropped to my knees in dramatic fashion, "Woah, boy, buy me dinner first."

I walked right into that one, "I can't tell you. I've been trying to convince them to own up to it. So leave it be for now."

Emiko laughed, "Yeah, sounds like you. Keeping your promises even until death do you part!" She grabbed a small book out of her shady and obviously too large coat. As in, it wasn't very wide. Its size in terms of pages however... It seemed to be four thousand pages long or something.

"Holy crap, that's huge!" I tried to keep my voice down, "Did you take that from the library!? Monotaro would execute you if he saw that!"

Emiko pointed towards the only camera in the area, "Can't punish what you don't know about. I've been quite careful with this, thank you very much. The least I can do is fool some stupid animatronic bear or tiger. I've worked the night shift before..."

"Did you just?" I shook my head, "No, don't answer. Let's bury that," The less automatonophobia I had to develop from indie games, the better, "Why are you showing me?"

Emiko opened it up, "Written by Izuru Kamukura, the original Headmaster and founder of Hope's Peak. It lists all the talents they'd come across and what they did, how they affected the person with them, and more!"

I shrugged, "So you can better understand people, right? Is it recent?" She opened it to the table of contents where the bottom of the page was labeled. The date said, "Republished by Kirigiri J., 2012."

Emiko nodded, "It has everything, including the last two groups. There were even locations set up for us, I assume. Since we never got officially integrated into the student body, and the whole world ending and shit, we had to leave it off. I've found some cool stuff, though. The order we were selected."

"Really?" I asked, and she showed me a page with blanks that only had talents listed. In order it was: Poet, Cheerleader, Archer, Tamer, Speedreader, Student Council President 4#, Firestarter, Boxer, ? (it was completely blacked out with Sharpie ink), Womanizer 2#, Butler, Maid, Babysitter, Tutor, Rising Star, Cosplayer, Thief, and... Arbiter.

Emiko confirmed, "Interestingly enough, they were chosen in pairs. Each two know each other. Shinju and Daisuke's meeting at a football game and later pen pal messaging. Koneko helping Mayu tame her fox, Tamamo. Kibou and her Senpai, Satoshi. Kenji and Akihiko, who knew of each other from stories at their old school."

I was getting a bit nervous, "Really? Interesting..."

She picked up on that, "Now, you didn't know Takumi beforehand. So the triple question mark, the one scrawled out, is likely Takeshi. He must have searched the library for any reference to his talent and eradicated it. Yoshikazu and Hanako, Nari and I. Nico and Shizue meeting each other at small conventions. Then there's the two outcasts, the ones without alliances. Granberia, and I must assume due to the elimination method, you. Care to explain?"

Fudge. "Alright, I'm...not _just_ the Ultimate Romantic. They called me an Arbiter or some shizz. It was really vague, though. I wouldn't know exactly what it does. They said that if I like, I could cancel out other people's talents and change their emotions to fit mine, but I dunno about all that. As for Granberia, I met her, once. Saved her life, actually." I admitted.

"Heroic fucker, eh? I could see it," she chuckled as she stuffed the book back in her coat with much difficulty, "I'll scan through this and see if I find anything noteworthy..."

"Cool," I nodded before walking off towards my doom, "Try not to get caught..."

"Have fun with Nari!" she giggled, "Not too much, though." The hell!?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

I had discovered over my many interactions with her that Emiko was cashews and macadamias. As in, totally nuts. Not in a bad way. I think?

The day after Mayu had called me out to the hot spring, I was once again demanded to meet Nari at the park after hours. She was certainly working me like a dog, though it wasn't all bad.

It was nearing 10 PM, so I decided to drink something to keep me up, lest I get attacked in the forest like last time, I thought bitterly. Koneko hadn't told me she was undergoing the transformation yet, and I had just remembered the whole story of when I met Granberia, so it could have been a worse night.

I heard someone enter the cafe behind me, "Sup, bruh?" I turned to see Emiko, giving me a 'cool' smile, or so she tried. When I didn't react, she pouted and seated herself, "Can I get some service or what!?"

I rolled my eyes, but I had made a cold macchiato for just in case someone demanded it. I mean, it was loaded with sugars (Shinju and Granberia had notorious sweet teeth). I was lucky they didn't coat me in sugar...Wow, me. Wow.

I handed her the drink, wisps of cold air still flowing from it, "Cold for a night drink, but..." She began slurping it down, much faster than I would have advised. If too much of that hit the roof of her mouth, the nerves there would get pissed off and cause a brain freeze. She eventually caught one, causing me to laugh at how thoughtless she had been.

Emiko placed her drink on a small coaster so as not to wet the table, "Shinji, we gotta talk, man. I know what you've been up to. With the girls here."

"Y-y...What do you mean?" I asked, damning myself for stuttering.

"Don't give me no bullshit!"

"That's a double negative, my dear," I shot back, hitting her with the truth of language.

"Maybe I prefer science negatives, motherfucker!" She was particularly annoyed on how the turns had tabled, "You know damn well what I mean, ho. Shinju, Shizue, Mayu, Koneko, even my precious Nari! You might even have your claws in Granberia by now as well!"

"I...plead the fifth," I responded with a plea that fell on deaf (or at least anti-Bill of Rights) ears.

"No amendments here, bitch! Admit it!" She balled her hand into a fist, "Before I rustle your jimmies!"

I must have had an odd expression on my face, because I couldn't even, "Fine... I admit it. I may be involved with them... But in my defense, I only ever asked one of them out. The rest of 'em refused to accept defeat. Plus, I... I love 'em, so..."

Emiko chuckled, "You're cute when you tell the truth, hehe. Love has made you into a fine woman, hasn't it?"

I grumbled under my breath, something about a dirty whore.

"Don't bring up your ex when you're talking to other girls, man. Rule number one..." As I realized what she meant by that, I turned around, "Hey, wait!"

"Shove off," I replied, only partially meaning it. She was colder than a refrigerator, man.

Emiko frowned, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry... Too far. I always say the most messed up things by accident..."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't really stay that mad at Emiko.

"Anyways... That's why I tested ya. Wanted to see if you were a manwhore... Shinju's request, honest. I owed her one, and I thought it'd be fun to mess around if you were... Hehehe." I hoped that was her cynical sense of humor again.

I decided to react more harshly, "Even _I_ have standards."

Emiko laughed, however, "Ah, he's mad. So kawaii."

"You know what they say... Kawaii in the streets, a senpai in the sheets." I joked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll leave you to whatever it is you're doing, alright? Go on." She walked away, into the dark night. I finished my drink and sipped it. At 10:15, I set out.

 _ **One Nari Free Time Event Later**_

Nari and I walked out of the forest, and I felt confused and ashamed, "I cannot believe you requested that! It's fucked up! For so many reasons!"

Nari nudged me, "Come on, it helped you work out your trauma, didn't it? Plus, you really got into it. Like you were eager to do that, hm?"

"No one thinks, 'You know what? I want to go into a dark forest at night and role play some pretty edgy shit!' Except you!" I groaned, still having a couple flashbacks as we headed to the park bench.

Nari strode along with a noble look on her face, "Wah, wah, wah. You didn't get your clothes dirty like I did!"

As we argued, I imagined how horrible this would sound out of context. Then again, in context, it was a little bit worse.

What happens in that forest stays in that forest. Period.

As we reached the bench, we noticed Emiko sitting on it, relaxed, "Shinji, Nari, what are you doing here so late!? Besides some intense roleplaying..."

Oh, unholy mother of Buddha, she knew!? Nari found her voice first, "You know...? Who told you?! Shinji!?"

Before she could hit me, Emiko interrupted us, "No, no, silly! I watched from the shadows! It was pretty hot, not gonna lie."

I suddenly felt as uncomfortable as a human being. Mother of Holy Lao Tzu, why!? WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS!? This wasn't even the first time!

Nari must have been dying inside as well, because a dark black shadow covered her eyes. I half expected them to turn red, "So you followed one of us here just so you could watch us hang out together? You didn't...bother to say anything?"

Emiko chuckled, "I was busy during... Hah!"

Everything is wrong. Everything is wrong when you're part of the team.

Regret. The only word that flashed in my mind as I struggled not to pass out was regret.

I could have stopped this. I could have grown a backbone and told Nari I was busy. But nooooooo!

Emiko laughed maniacally at us, "Oh, just relax, already. I'm not gonna blackmail you two or nothing. I mean, we ARE adults here, riiiiight?"

Nari sighed, "Ugh... Of all the people to be caught by, I suppose you are the most tolerable."

"What are you up and forgiving her already for!?" I exclaimed, "Our privacy has been defiled! And not by Monotaro! Weren't you terrified of this situation?"

She shrugged, "Emiko already knew my... tastes. She's the one person who didn't shelve me for it."

Emiko grinned sinisterly, so I clenched my butt and prepared myself for the next plot twist, "Don't lie to him, Nari. We both know you saw me in the brush. I saw you look my way. But instead of saying anything, you stayed in character. It's almost like having someone watch was...enticing for you."

I turned to Nari, who looked away, turning a deep shade of red, "It was kind of hot, yeah."

"Nari, the fuck!?" I exclaimed, clearly done by this point.

Emiko pulled something out of her pocket. A small camcorder, "I had no hands free, see? One for work, one for pleasure! I recorded it all!" she smirked, looking more diabolical than she ever had before, "Maybe I'll donate this tape to the Takumi spank bank foundation..."

That set Nari off, and she immediately bounded after Emiko, probably going to maul her to death brutally when she caught her.

I sat on the bench and pulled out a small flask. Inside it, I had created a special dynamic mix of drinks. Monotaro said they weren't alcoholic, but could mimic the effects. I wanted to forget this entire night. As I gulped down the drink, I thought to myself how fitting Nari and Emiko were. Both of them had personalities where they could easily befriend people, but once you got to know them better, you unleashed a whole new kind of person. Watching them run around, Emiko crying for me to save her and Nari almost foaming at the mouth, I couldn't help but laugh.

What had my life become?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Psych Exam". Befriending the super eccentric Emiko has allowed you greater insight into the psychology studies she has undertaken. White noise will not appear when you have this skill equipped. Cannot be paired with Infinity Flames.**

 **You have been awarded Emiko's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	13. Kibou's Free Time Events

Author's Note: I apologize for the wait. Only six characters left and we can begin the festivities. Just have to decide if Nari's FTEs should be censored or not at this point...

 _ **Free Time Events with Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**_

 **Characters With FTE Left to Do:**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

There was a bit of reluctance in me to spend time with Kibou, simply because she spoke so quickly that I felt I might need a translator. I was hoping Satoshi would join me, but he was busy with his duties as our unofficial leader. I was worried he or Shinju might die first. What kind of killing game takes out the girl you like or the leader first? Evil ones, that's filled ones.

I eventually found Kibou hungering for knowledge in the library. She had a huge stack of books on one side of her, and an even larger one on the other, "Kibou? Reading?"

She didn't respond to me, instead glancing at page after page after page, before closing the book and setting it down on what I assumed would be the completed side, the larger pile of the two. She then responded, "Hey! Shinji, how've you been these past few days!? It's exciting here, isn't it!? So many rare documents and files here! Data on the Togami Corporation, details about serial killers, lists of conspiracies and secret organizations! There was even a manga that detailed Miss Kirigiri's secretive past, including volumes not released to the public before the world ended!"

"Hm, sounds juicy. I might try it later," I didn't know what else to say, as she spoke so quickly I could barely keep up with her and grasp meaning from her almost incoherent gibberish.

Kibou nodded slowly, "She really went through a lot, even before the killing game... Hopefully, wherever she is now, she's safe..."

I chuckled, "You're a bit of a bleeding heart too, aren't you?" She didn't catch on immediately, "Caring about someone you've only read about... Not easy to do, in this day and age. Some people are so desensitized..."

"How could I not be touched by such a tragic story, Shinji? Especially one so similar to our own situation..." Kibou nodded, "This just motivates me even harder to do my best and to get us out of here!"

That sentiment resounded with me, "You and me both, Kibou. The more time I spend with all of you, the more worried I become. Losing any of you would be...devastating. Especially if Ultimate Despair really did end the world..."

Kibou agreed, "That's why I'm tearing through all of these books. Not just for my own sake or curiosity. If I can find anything useful in here... Monotaro said he mixed in important, classified documents in with the chaff. If I can just find out what he meant..."

I grimaced, "Likely Monotaro's tricking you. Giving you false hope so he can crush it later."

"Nope!" As if on cue, Monotaro jumped out from somewhere (under the floorboards, maybe?), "I never lie when it comes to information about that! Which reminds me..."

A beeping noise came from our handbooks, and I checked them. Rule 10# now read, "No littering is allowed. Everything must be disposed of in trash cans or hampers, in regards to clothes, towels, rags, and tablecloths." I read it out aloud.

"I have to be conscious of the environment, too, ya know? Keep it pristine for the next generations! That is, if anyone lives that long! Upupupupu!" Monotaro quickly scampered off, leaving us with only our thoughts.

"I hate that stupid tiger," I muttered under my breath, "Him and his god complex. It's a good thing that Junko bitch is six feet under."

Kibou folded her arms as she noted what I said, "That only makes this mystery stranger. Who is controlling Monotaro? Not a member of Ultimate Despair, as evidenced by their speech earlier. If the last member is among us, what do they gain by making us undergo a killing game? Is the mastermind a member of the Future Foundation, perhaps? Trying to root out the Despair through whatever means necessary? Could we be that disposable?"

As what she said entered my mind, it dawned on me how dangerous the mastermind could be, "...I don't care. Whoever it is... If I lose a single person because of this bullshit, I'll return their crimes tenfold. And if I have to, Ultimate Despair will pay along the way, for getting us trapped here."

Kibou chuckled, finding what I said somehow amusing, "Calm down, Shinji. No worries. None of us would ever commit a murder. Shinju would never allow it."

"Ahaha, true, true. She's so strong-willed, she could probably beat Monotaro outright... I'd prefer she doesn't try, though. Just in case," I added, "If she got hurt trying some bravado attempt at saving us..."

"You... really care about her, don't you?" She asked, giving me an honest expression.

I looked away from her, trying to hid my flushed face, "Yes, I do. But I care about everyone here. Including you. Don't make something out of nothing, alright?"

Kibou laughed, "Fine, fine. I'll just pretend I don't see the redness on your face."

I decided to drive the conversation elsewhere as quickly as I could manage, "So, reading, huh? You prefer certain genres or what?"

She must have realized I was deflecting the conversation, but she gave way, "I will drag that conversation from before out, eventually. As for your question," she thought for a moment, "Likely, horror. Fantasy, horror, and...comedies. Those are my favorite genres."

"Really? Any recommendations from the library? I've only found a...rather drab nonfiction book to grab my interest so far..." I asked.

Kibou reached into the completed pile and handed me a small brown book, paperback, "Penpal, by Dathan Auerbach. Self-published little horror novel, from the land of online horror stories."

I picked it up, "Ah, creepypasta. Gotcha." I flipped through the pages, "Looks interesting. I'll try it out."

I signed it out for Kibou and then placed it on a shelf where I could easily retrieve it from later, before seeing Kibou off and heading back to my room, with much to think on.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

I found myself in the cafe, having a nice chat with Shinju, Daisuke, and Nico when Kibou arrived, "Oh, hey, guys! Having a little get together? Mind if I join?"

Shinju jumped on the opportunity, "Sure thing, Kibou. A bit too much testosterone in here for my tastes, personally."

Daisuke chuckled, grinning sinisterly, "Sis, that's not very kind of ya to say. I mean, neither of them are particularly manly..."

I nodded, "I guess? I never thought about it like that."

Nico took slight offense to this, "Excuse you, buddy! I'm the manliest around! Feel my muscles!" Nico posed, though his lanky arms showed no signs of a superior build. Despite this, he spoke in a deeper voice, "I am a beeeast!"

Kibou sat down next to me, earning me a glare from Shinju, one of disapproval, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I haven't done anything."

"Yet," Shinju said bitterly.

Kibou must have noticed the tension, "Oh, no worries, Shinju! I have eyes on only one person, promise. No offense, Shinji..."

"None taken," I quickly replied, "I honestly did not come to this school to look for chicks..."

"Could have fooled me," Daisuke said, barely audible.

I glared at him, "Not deaf."

Daisuke shrugged, "Well, excuse me, mister Romantic."

"Instead of giving me sass, maybe you could cheer me on for once, you know? Like your job?" I turned to Shinju, "Maybe write some poetry instead of hitting me all the damn time?"

Nico nodded, "I mean, at least you guys can access your talents. I'm completely powerless here. At everyone's mercy. Not to say I distrust you guys..."

Kibou smiled and shook the idea away, "Of course you don't, Nico. You're kind... Like my Senpai."

I decided to ask, "So, how did you meet Satoshi? I'm curious what started your whole friendship..."

Kibou clapped her hands together, "It's a simple story, really. Satoshi was real quiet as a kid. Not a loner, but he always felt distanced from the others. I bridged that gap. Tried to get him involved. I'm the one who nominated him for Student Council President, actually."

"Really?" I should have expected that.

"Soon after, I got bumped up a grade and became his secretary," Kibou continued, "We're best friends, really."

"You want to be more, though. Don't you?" Nico was quite the observant one, as he struck at the heart of the matter.

Kibou was blushing like crazy, but she nodded, "Yes... I do love Senpai. Satoshi is kind, caring, responsible... He's always been there for me. When my father died, when my mother left me with my grandparents. I owe him my happiness, and... I just hope to reciprocate the joy he's given me."

Shinju got up from her chair, "I see how it is! Kibou, come with me! We're going to come up with a plan!"

"A plan?" Kibou asked, looking like a deer in the headlights.

Shinju nodded vigorously, "You just need to grab his attention, is all. That is where I can help you out!"

Kibou seemed reluctant to let her take the reins, but she soon found support, "If you need help getting Senpai to notice you, Sis here's your girl. Basically mastered the art of catching people's eyes," Daisuke had his eyes focused on me, "Even clueless protagonists like someone we know."

Nico folded his arms, jokingly, "I take offense to that," I flicked him in his ear, "Okay, okay! Seriously, though. She's probably the best person to ask, really."

Kibou nodded, "Then I leave my fate in your hands, Shinju!" Shinju and Kibou both ran off to concoct Operation: Notice Me, Senpai!

Daisuke and Nico both laughed heartily, "Oh, boy! What have we encouraged?" Nico managed to regain his composure first.

Daisuke shook his head, "We'll find out soon enough."

I nudged Daisuke in the shoulder, "Come on, have faith. She means well."

Daisuke couldn't argue with that, so the conversation shifted to what games we had on our handhelds. Even Daisuke was a bit of a gamer, though he wouldn't admit he might be totally addicted.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Shinju, Mayu, Koneko, Shizue, and I were all gathered in the supermarket in the music section. Shinju had decided that she wanted to liven up our times spent here, and recruited for a band, just to occasionally play some tunes per request.

Shinju herself had played the electric guitar before, so she was pleased with rocking that (literally). Mayu, who had been trained in older instruments, opted for piano, flute, ocarina, and a few other ambient ones. Whenever we did more modern work, though, she handled the keyboard. Shizue was their rhythm guitarist. Since she had often cosplayed musicians before, she had naturally picked up music talents along the way, but she herself preferred a less standout role.

Koneko actually had a beautiful singing voice, one that could match higher pitches than Shinju could, so she was the lead vocalist whilst Shinju and Shizue would provide backup. Despite this hard work she put into it, she felt inadequate, so we handed her the gravest responsibility; the electric triangle.

Compared to them, I was a complete scrub who knew almost nothing about music or its production. Despite that, I was coerced into being their secondary vocalist, lest they needed (or wanted) a male singer. This also meant Shinju was working me like a dog in voice exercises, alongside pushing me into learning how to play an instrument myself. I convinced her to let me learn how to produce it electronically, since I was a bit of a klutz at times.

That brought us to this supermarket, where Shinju was having the others pick out their preferred beast of musical legend. I was standing off to the side, hoping they would conveniently forget my existence. I loved music, of course, but making it was a whole separate beast. I'm no Ken Ashcorp.

That being said, I was quite pleased when Kibou came inside the market, where I quickly pulled her towards me, "Hey, Kibou. Let's talk, over there..." I hid in the food section of the store with her, "Shinju is prowling for instruments right now. I just wanna escape right now."

Kibou asked, "She really means to go through with that band idea?"

I shook my head, "Yeah, I guess. Don't see why she rounded me up into it. Really, anyone else would do."

"You're the male vocalist, yeah?" I nodded, and Kibou shot back, "She probably wants someone who'll put emotion into it. And someone easy to work with. Takeshi is...Well, Takeshi. Kenji would be problematic, and Yoshikazu and Satoshi are busy. Akihiko and Daisuke turned her down already, right?"

I sighed, "Sadly. She told Takumi off, and that left Nico and I. Nico can sing, but he was a bit too nervous to accept. I only offered up myself to spare him that fate, honestly."

"Sacrificing yourself to Shinju's machinations, hm? Kenji is right; she is enslaving you."

That earned another sigh, "Don't take Kenji seriously. She gives me a lotta shit, but Shinju's not cruel to me... I think."

Kibou found this response of mine amusing, "Awe, so cute. You're a total tsundere for her, aren't you?" I gave her a glare, "It's true! Just admit you like her, Shinji."

I decided to prod back, "How did confessing to Satoshi go?" she winced, "Not well? Shinju's advice didn't work out?"

Kibou laughed, but it was awkward and fake, "No, it went...Okay. I think? Shinju got me dressed up to look really pretty, and Satoshi couldn't even look at me directly. He ran off before I could confess, but Shinju said that was basically confirmation he likes me."

"Well, she's not wrong," I admitted, "You should just go find him and tell him straight out. Be honest with him."

"Is that how you asked out Jun?" Kibou struck a bit of a nerve there, but I decided to humor her.

"Met her when I was barely 16. She was 14 at the time, two months and a year younger than me. We spent a lot of time together as friends, in a group of people, actually. She turned 15, and we were still just chilling out with everyone."

"A group? I thought you only had three close friends," Kibou brought that up.

"Kiyo was amongst them. Takuro, I met at around the same time, just not in that circle. Most of that group moved away or transferred schools, so eventually, only Kiyo, Jun, and I remained. I didn't get to know them long enough, really. Too soon, they left us. As for Jun and I... We had been really close, but... Neither of us made a move. We were both too shy, and neither of us had ever dated before... I know for certain that I was too scared to ever confess," I remembered, "If I got shot down, things would get weird between us."

"One of you had to make the move, though. Right?" Kibou was certainly quick-witted, and I was thankful that she was intelligent, as it made our conversations more interesting.

I looked away for a moment, a frown forming for the smallest moment, "Actually, we both kept it hidden pretty well. Takuro started spending time with Kiyo, Jun, and I, and he was the one who basically pushed us to admit our feelings to each other. I couldn't believe that she reciprocated my feelings, and I had been going through a really rough patch in my life..."

"That bad?" Kibou asked, "Well, you don't have to go into detail for me."

At least she was kind enough to watch how far she dug, "I don't remember much from then. Just that it was bleak and depressing. Things went pretty well from there. Naturally, we fought at times, but... Well... That was a long time ago..."

Kibou patted me on the shoulder, "Sounds like you were a match made in Heaven. Like me and Senpai..."

I chuckled, "Maybe it's for that very reason I want you to admit to him already. My first love didn't work out, but... Yours can. Take the chance. Before it's too late. Before you regret it all..." I didn't mean to become so somber, but I couldn't help it when I thought about Jun's death.

"Do you regret falling in love with her?" Of all the questions Kibou could have asked, that one was particularly brutal, "Would you rather have never met her and lost her?"

I didn't answer for the longest time, "I can't answer that yet. I'd have to give it some honest thought..."

"You don't sound so sure about that," Kibou noted my tone of voice.

"Yeah, I know which I'd pick. I just..." I shook my head, "I'm getting nostalgic right now..."

Kibou nodded, "You can tell me the answer later, then. I have someone to confess to," I smirked as she said this, "But if I get turned down, I'm coming crying to you."

I reached over and grabbed some chocolates, "I'll get the comfort food, just in case," I joked, "Good luck."

Kibou saluted me like the weirdo she was before she sped off, running out the door. I snuck out after her, hoping Shinju wouldn't notice my absence.

I almost made it out when I felt a hand on the back of my neck, pulling me in by my collar, "Nice try, dickweed!"

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Sometime the day after I confessed to the Grave Dangers incident publicly, I found myself upstairs in the library. The barriers to keep one from falling to the ground floor had been repaired by Monotaro, who wanted less accidents and 'more stabby stab'. I was finishing up Penpal when I heard someone call my name.

I looked up to see Kibou, a smile plastered on her face. I waved, "Hey, Missus Hondo. Or is that too forward of me?"

Kibou sat across from me, rolling her eyes, "Quiet about that. Just because we spent the night together doesn't mean we're getting married. I'd like to, though..." She started daydreaming again.

I brought her back to reality, "Earth to Kibou!"

She snapped back to attention, "Right, right! Sorry! I went to the supermarket and did what you asked. Found the same build and everything. A perfect match. Ordered the ones you asked for from Monotaro. All six of them."

I nodded, reaching into my pocket and ensuring my small box was there, "Surprised that they even had a section for trinkets and jewelry. It's like an overpriced gift shop, 'cept everything's free."

Kibou decided to revive an earlier conversation, "So, why did you ask for help from me? You could have done this yourself, you know..."

"I wanted it done in secret," I countered, "Had I gone, Shinju likely would have followed me out of suspicions. Especially considering how much crap I've gotten myself into, lately. It's a wonder I haven't been murdered."

Kibou reprimanded me for that dark joke, "Bad taste, stop that! We're going to get out of here, safe and sound."

I wasn't too confident in that thought, no matter how much I desired that outcome. All of us getting out alive? What kind of bullshit would that be for a killing game? I mocked the idea in my own mind, not saying anything.

Seeing my silence as capitulation, she redirected the conversation elsewhere, "A secret. When do you plan to spring it on them?"

"After I get them, I'll think on it. You won't be there when I surprise them, though. Don't see why you're so interested in it," I poked fun at her curiosity.

"I'm just a bit surprised that you're making things work out. With the girls, I mean. I imagine if anyone else tried this, they'd end up a stain on the ground," Kibou must have just finished reading some pretty messed up stories to bring up an ending like that. School Days, man.

I decided to respond logically, "I'm far from the first kind of person to have a maze of relationships like this. Many a character from manga, books, movies, history, have all experienced similar situations. At the very least, no one is gonna be penalized with death if they break it off."

Kibou nodded, accepting my valid point, "I guess that's true. It's just kinda weird to see it for yourself."

I couldn't argue with that, "Even weirder to live it, honestly. I sometimes wonder, when I'm awake late at night, what Jun would think of it all."

Kibou didn't respond to that, probably thinking of what to say, "What do you think she would say about this?"

I admitted, "Probably disapprove and smack me in the back of the head. She and Shinju have some commonalities... Well, she has things in common with all of 'em, in some very particular ways."

"Yeah, like gender," Kibou turned it into a joke, laughing as I gave her an indignant glare, "I know, I'm so bad."

"You are definitely not a smooth criminal," I referred.

"I hope Annie's okay," Kibou ruined the joke, "Being honest for a second... Emiko, Hanako, and I sometimes gossip with the others. You really go out of your way for everyone here. The extra mile for them, too."

I must have been blushing a bit, "Well, I'm not worth much as a person. I lack a strong will, it's hard for me to maintain composure, and I've got baggage. Least I can do is dedicate my life to the ones I love."

"But what do you want?" She was intrigued, "You always talk about how you want everyone else to be happy, but what is it you personally want? Don't you have any aspirations for your own life? Dream job? Do you want a family, or to live somewhere nice?"

"I don't honestly care all that much..." I wiped my bangs out of my eyes, "Just being here, with everyone... Having fun with the ones I love... That's enough for me."

Kibou nodded in understanding, "I see... Maybe you will acquire a dream, here. Something to live for, besides your waifus."

"Maybe..." I trailed off.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

I heard a knock on my cottage door. Curious as to whom it could be, I opened the door and saw Kibou, "May I come inside?"

"Did you really need to ask? Yes, you may," I let her inside and closed the door behind her.

Kibou looked around my room before she seized a part of my bed to sit, "Shinji, I just wanted to thank you. For Satoshi, for pushing me to do my best, for everything you do for him and everyone else here. I imagine you rarely get thanked for your tireless hours spent on others, so I thought I'd take the initiative."

"Well, that's kind of you, but... I'm not one for being complimented," I argued, "I'm much more accustomed to being belittled, heh."

Kibou gave me a solemn expression when I said that, but she shook off the bad mood lurking over us, "Shinji, I also wanted to ask you again if you regretted meeting Jun."

I winced a bit, "Ah, right. Said I'd give you the answer later."

"I know it's an intrusive question, but I... I think of what would happen, what I would do, if I lost Satoshi like you lost Jun. The thought terrifies me, but... I think I'd rather remember," Kibou said, a determined look to her face, her eyes practically shining, "No matter how painful it was, I'd never want to forget the good times..."

"That's what most people would say, yes," I conceded, "'It gets better'. You would be surprised how that sentence sounds to a depressed person. When every day's endless and apathetic, one wonders if better exists. Obviously, it usually gets better. Almost always."

Kibou thought for a moment, "Sometimes it only gets worse?"

I agreed with that, "Basically. If I were killed in that fight, it would never have gotten better, yeah? Just a low point to the very gruesome end."

"But you lived," Kibou reminded me.

"Now I am here, and I have a chance to make my life better. And I won't let a discount stuffed animatronic get in my way!" I refused to feel down about our current situation.

Kibou clapped, "That's the spirit! We won't lose to some evil mastermind!"

I sighed, reluctantly giving her closure, "I'd never lose my time with Jun. No matter how much it makes me suffer, the time I spent with her is... Invaluable. I... I'd like to be alone with my thoughts, right now."

Kibou nodded, "A-alright," She got up and opened the door, but before she left, she leaned back inside, "You make them happy with your plan, Shinji. I know you can."

"Thanks," I muttered, barely audible.

With that, she closed the door. Kibou was an excitable girl, and she was also a bit spastic. She was also enthusiastic, kind, caring, and emotionally intelligent. I was glad to have her as a valued friend. Satoshi really had someone strong to support him.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Speedster". Kibou's strong support and enthusiasm has renewed your desire to find the truth and get out alive. This skill increases your max speed in Logic Dive.**

 **You have been awarded Kibou's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	14. Akihiko's Free Time Events

**Author's Note: The F5 stands for the final five characters with Free Time events left to do. This chapter here is a bit longer due to...Well, you'll see soon enough. Many references to...certain shows have been made, but that is to be expected when certain people take the stage. Also expect some plot twists here and there, and some brutal battling. Enjoy as I gear myself for the next chapter; who will it be? Nari, the naughty roleplayer? Takeshi, the mysterious mean-spirited man? Shizue, the Cosplaying Cutie? Shinju, the Shiitake mushroom talking tsundere? Or Shinji, the Silly, Sometimes Stupid Protagonist? ;D**

 _ **Free Time Events with Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic (F5)**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet (F5)**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor (F5)**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ? (F5)**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer (F5)**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Akihiko was certainly a much different person in comparison to the others, though not necessarily in a bad way. That being said, it was a Monday morning when he forced every single one of us to meet him outside the small stage where Monotaro announced what new revelations he would give us.

Akihiko smirked as we all arrived, "Everyone, line up. Girls to the right, guys to the left." We all reluctantly did as he asked, "Now, I've been observing everyone here, and I decided to gather you here because I want to learn something. As you all know, I am a prolific boxer. As such, I need practice. Shadow boxing is nice, but what I truly need is someone who can better match my capabilities."

Nico laughed this off, "Are you kidding? You'd destroy us!"

Akihiko snapped his neck, to the left and the right, before cracking his knuckles, "Which is why I have decided to run a competition. Mayu, would you please take the stage with me?"

Mayu looked around nervously before clamoring up to the stage, where she stood awkwardly, mirroring Akihiko's pose.

"I have personally assessed that Mayu has the highest battle capacity of the females here. If you want to prove me wrong...just try," Akihiko turned around and moved a small blackboard, which featured brackets, "The eight of you not chosen will fight in a three-round tournament. The two survivors move to round four, where the winner of the tourney will face off against the reigning champ, and then the two genders will face off in the final battle!"

"You want to set up a fighting tourney?" Shinju asked, trying to clarify.

"Essentially. I need a partner, but only the best will do for Akihiko Tanaka, the Aristocratic Boxer!" He showed off of a couple of strong right hooks, "Monotaro agreed to let me use the stage as our arena, and I gathered gear for everyone to suit up in. So dress down and get back here for round one!"

"And what if I don't fucking want ta!?" Takeshi exclaimed, making his displeasure clear.

Akihiko jumped down off of the arena, sweat dripping down his hardened pecs, "We have four weeks of freedom. One round a week, and that'll get us ready. In the weeks over, I'll be sure to coach and train you all in sessions of one to two hours. Any questions?"

Takeshi spoke up again, "The fuck would I bother for?"

Akihiko chuckled, giving Takeshi a wide grin, certainly creeping him out, "Bets!" He spread his arms out, much like an eagle would spread its mighty wings, "Before every match, the fighters put up a condition! It can be anythin'! I figure that would make this a lot more interesting, hehe."

"Bets?" Shizue asked, moving her hair out of the way.

"Takeshi could ask us to leave him the fuck alone forever. If he wins, he gets peace and quiet."

"Halle-fucking-lujah," Takeshi grumbled, "I'll beat your ass for that."

"Obviously, the risks have to match up before anyone agrees," Akihiko further explained, "No unfair bets, naturally."

"This your way of bonding with us?" Granberia questioned, keeping her composure even in these circumstances.

Akihiko thought on that for a bit, "Suppose so. I don't waste my time on weaklings! I mean, training time, hahaha! So, are we agreed?" After a bit, we all agreed, mostly at Satoshi's urging to further strengthen our group's bonds.

After we all got dressed up, Akihiko brought Koneko and Nico up, and they flipped a coin. Koneko called tails correctly (and ironically, as hers snatched the coin off of the ground after winning).

The boys went first. The eight of us reached into a hat and pulled out a small white plastic ball, numbered from one to eight. As we all received our assignments, we placed them on the table. The first selections, as randomized, were Takeshi and Nico.

Akihiko coached both before they faced off in the ring. Shizue was happy to be the announcer, calling them both up, "In this corner, we have Takeshi, the Annoying Asshole! His opponent today is... Nico, the Wary Weakling!"

"What kind of taglines are those?" Nico voiced a complaint.

"Win a match, and it'll change appropriately!" Shizue replied ecstatically.

Takeshi shrugged, "Whatever. If I win, you leave me the fuck alone. Understood?"

Nico sighed, "This is gonna hurt... If I win, you have to join my book club!"

Shizue rung the bell, and Takeshi flew forward at an impressive speed. He had never demonstrated his full fury before, so following his flashy footwork firsthand was fairly fascinating.

For Nico, it was much less so. One, two, three, Takeshi swung forward, delivering three strong blows to Nico's left and right cheek. A fourth one to the chest knocked Nico back, and Takeshi delivered a final blow to the nads.

Nico crumpled, surrendering in between exasperated breaths, "I...Give...Critical hit to the nads..."

Akihiko sighed, shaking his head, "Right, didn't make rules. I'd say no more nut shots, but it's a bit late for that. It may have worked, but it won't be so easy to use that again."

Takeshi threw his gloves off, tossing them aside like trash, "I don't give a fuck. See you next week." With that, Takeshi stormed off, not sticking around to see the rest of the fights.

With that, Shizue penned in Nico as the Ultimate Loser at 18th. How unfortunate.

As Nico was carried off by Yoshikazu to the nearby table to rest, the girls gathered around the hat and received their assignments, from 1 to 8.

Up first was Kibou and Hanako.

Kenji looked nervous as the two took the stage, so I assured him, "Relax, Kenji. Kibou wouldn't hurt her."

Kenji reluctantly nodded, "I know, but even then... Trusting a girl is not a weakness, but..."

Kibou laughed, "If I win, you have to put my books away when I'm done. It's such a chore..."

Hanako muttered, "If I win... you have to send messages to people for me. If I'm...scared."

Kenji sighed, "She could just ask m-"

Shizue cut him off, "Alright! Today, we have the first female match! It looks like... Kibou, the Slow Speedreader will face off against Hanako, the Doomed Domestic! And fight!"

Kibou smiled, "Don't worry, Hanako. I won't hurt you..." Kibou stepped forward and swung, but Hanako dodged it with ease, "Woah!" Kibou swung three more times, and Hanako dodged as if it was nothing.

Before Kibou could reassess the situation, Hanako delivered a hard blow to her stomach, knocking her back with the sheer force. Clutching her side, Kibou dropped, "Oww...I give..."

Everyone was speechless except Yoshikazu, "It seems my self-defense training was sufficient."

"It sure as hell was! Damn!" Nico explained, still wincing in pain as he sat on the loser's table.

Akihiko helped Kibou up and Satoshi kindly escorted her over to the loser circle.

Shizue geared herself up as she announced, "Match Three! Next, we have Kenji, the Failed Fireman! He's facing off against Satoshi, the Unreliable Underdog!"

"Let's have a fair match," Satoshi bowed to his opponent, "If I win, you'll be my assistant when I need it."

Kenji nodded, "Gotta win this for the boys back home... And when I win, you'll participate in events I need help with, got it?"

As the bell rung, Satoshi leaned forward. Kenji, who had anticipated a similar move, quickly took the high ground, leaping into the air to deliver a hard blow to Satoshi's back.

Satoshi was clobbered onto the floor, where he waved his hands, "I...I'm out... I can't handle this... Not with my arrhythmia..."

Kenji cheered himself on, proud that he and Hanako had both made it onward to round two, "Now I get a chance to beat that Takeshi prick up."

With that, Satoshi joined Kibou on the loser's table, where he told her that she had done her best. Kenji, on the other hand, proudly joined Hanako at the winner's table, the only so far since Takeshi had departed.

Next up...

Shinju smirked evilly as she faced off against Shizue, who had dressed up now. She was wearing an orange gi, tied at the waist with blue clothes underneath. A red belt held it all together, and she was posed like a warrior.

Koneko announced, "Now, it's Shinju, the Sassy Tsundere Beast... Can she stand against Son Shizue, the Cosplaying Coward!?" Koneko rung the bell, and Shinju grinned.

"When I win, you'll stop trying to cosplay with Shinji! Understand?" Shinju shouted, quite determined.

Shizue didn't say anything for a while, "When I win, you lose your monopoly on his time."

Shinju laughed, "Yeah, whatever. Are you going to fight me or what?"

"Fight you? No. I'm going to destroy you," Shizue said this bluntly, with such a determined and impressive look on her face that it definitely intimidated Shinju.

Shizue jumped forward at such an awe-inducing speed that even Akihiko had trouble keeping up, "Hah!" She quickly sent a strong punch to Shinju's chin, lifting her up with the momentous force, sending her hurtling into the sky.

Somehow, Shizue jumped a good thirty feet off of the ground, sending another harsh blow to Shinju's right cheek, sending her flying back down. Before she hit the ground, Shizue landed onto the arena and caught her in her right hand, as if she was nothing more than a small child.

Letting Shinju drop to the ground, Shizue turned away, "I didn't even need to transform. How boring..."

Shinju must have heard that insult, and she would not let that sit. She quickly ascended to her feet, and with more power than I had seen from her before, she landed a hard blow into Shizue's back. As she stumbled, Shinju unleashed a flurry of swift blows, knocking Shizue around as if toying with her.

Just when it seemed Shinju would win by a knockout, Shizue caught her fist, "Nice try..." Shizue delivered another hard blow to Shinju's stomach, sending her sprawling.

Wiping the blood off of her chin, Shizue proclaimed, "I think that makes me the winner effectively."

Shinju didn't get up, silently nodding as she clutched her stomach.

Akihiko helped her over to the loser's table, and Shizue strolled off, proudly strutting.

She quickly dressed into her regular clothes, retaking her spot as the announcer, "Daisuke, the Defective Defender faces off against... Yoshikazu, the Weakened Warrior!"

Daisuke practiced throwing a few punches before he offered, "If I win... You have to start taking breaks with Shinji and I."

Yoshikazu bowed and nodded, "And if I win, you must help me in my duties."

"Deal," Daisuke replied, before launching forward.

The two were very strong, trading blows, blocking each other's attacks. For a long five minutes, or approximately thirty-seven episodes, they were unable to land a single significant hit.

Yoshikazu started slowing, however. Daisuke noticed this and began targeting his legs, scoring a few quick hits. Unable to keep up with Daisuke's nimble attacks any longer, Yoshikazu stepped back, "I must concede this fight to you, Master Ichijou. You have humbled me with your techniques."

Daisuke cheered, "Damn right I did. Time to relax!"

Emiko and Nari went up next, each giving the other a determined look, "It's so funny we're fighting, Nari! If I win, you've gotta kiss Takumi!"

That must have been exactly what Nari needed to hear to piss her off, "If I win, you owe me one favor, no questions asked."

Shizue happily announced, "Will Emiko, the Effortless Emo last against Nari, the Negative Narcissist!?"

Nari quickly took the advantage, beating Emiko in three clean hits, sending her hurtling to the floor. Emiko shouted her surrender, and Nari nodded in satisfaction, leaving her trolling friend on the floor.

I finally took my place on the field, somewhat nervous. On the other side stood Takumi, who struck a pose, grabbing his groin, and pointing at the audience, "When I win... I get to feel up your girlfriends without you hurting me!"

"They'll still kill you," I bluntly shot back.

Takumi chuckled, "Not if I win 'em over..."

"And if I win... You can't feel 'em up, or fantasize about anyone here when you work the long shift... If you catch my drift," I returned, giving him a piercing glare.

Takumi laughed as if I had made a joke, "Hell to the yes! I'll crush you with my fapping hand!"

Shizue announced, "Takumi, the Seriously! Stop! Can he win against Shinji, the Reckless Romantic?"

"That's not a good stage name..." Takumi complained. His distracted response was his undoing.

Jump. Right hook. Left hook. Blow to the stomach. Punch in the back. Send him to the floor. Right hook. Left hook. Right hook. Left hook. I finally stopped swinging when Takumi collapsed to the arena floor in a matter of seconds.

"That wasn't hard..." I commented, "Then again, Takumi's only strength is in his wrists..."

All of the girls cheered, as I had freed them from the nightmare of listening to Takumi mention his fantasies about them offhandedly.

The final match began. Granberia was facing off against Koneko, and I had no idea who would take the crown here, since both were well versed in self-defense techniques.

"If I win... Hm... You have to help me with something later..." Granberia didn't specify what exactly that was, "I guess?"

Koneko was bemused by Granberia's indecisiveness, "Err...Okay. And if I win... You have to promise not to ever kill anyone here!"

Granberia chuckled, "What a waste of a bet. Of course I wouldn't... And if I was comfortable with killing all of you just for my own escape, I wouldn't care about the promise..."

At this, Shizue intervened, "Will Granberia, the Mysterious Misfit, meet up to Koneko, the Kawaii Kitten's expectations!?"

"Seriously, who chose these names?" Nico exclaimed from the sidelines.

Koneko quickly jumped forward and delivered a series of seriously strong punches. Granberia was able to dodge or block most of them effectively, but she was soon outmatched. Unable to fight back effectively, Granberia accepted her defeat.

Akihiko jumped onto the stage, clapping, "Everyone did great today. Next week, we'll meet up here for round two. In the meantime, get to training. I'll notify you when it is time..."

With that, everyone scattered. I stayed behind, and once we were alone, I asked Akihiko, "Any reason for this tournament? Or the bets?"

Akihiko shrugged, "I thought it would be fun. A lot of people look down on competition, since it creates rifts between people and brings us all one step closer to infighting. Tragic thing is they don't see how it can motivate people to be their prime, the best they can be!"

"You want to show us that through these fights?" I needed him to specify why he chose this of all things.

Akihiko shook the thought off, "Why not? We get to compete, and I get a training buddy. It's all good."

I sighed, acknowledging how simplistic his goals were, "Then I'm going to go get started on my training. Don't wanna lose a bet."

With that, I walked away, determined not to lose so easily.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

The next week, all of us gathered back at the arena. I had been working hard that week, since I knew Daisuke would be an incredibly vicious opponent.

That being said, I wasn't concerned about going first.

Takeshi and Kenji jumped into the arena, glaring each other down, "I win, enough of your conspiracy bullshit. Stop publicizing your shit theories."

Kenji laughed off his opponent's taunts, "Foolish villain! Kenji Amagi will not be swayed by such a weakling! When I win, you shall become my personal sidekick of Justice!"

Shizue shook her head in exasperation at the two 'unique' fighters. Akihiko himself looked completely embarrassed, "Guys, really?"

Shizue coughed loudly, focusing everyone's attention on her, "Today, Kenji, the Furious Firestarter faces off against Takeshi, the Amazing Asshole! Who will win!?"

"Finally, a title worthy of my greatness..." Kenji prepared himself.

Takeshi wasn't one for wasting words on what he perceived as a total weakling, "Give up." Takeshi sped forward, launching his fist directly into Kenji's unprotected jaw, sending him flying off of the stage, landing on the grass below.

Kenji slowly got to his feet, coughing roughly, "And that's my loss..." He then fell back onto his back.

"Sick of all this total faggotry... Can't wait to say goodbye to you fuckin' losers," Takeshi once again reminded us of his honest feelings towards us.

I noticed Shinju motion to Akihiko with a nod, and she walked forward, "Takeshi, I'm sick of you disrespecting all of us."

"Fuck off, slut," he responded.

"I asked Akihiko for an exhibition match with ya," Akihiko nodded to confirm her claim, "If I win, you have to stop bad mouthing us like a total fuckass."

"And if I win, I assume you'll shut your whore mouth when I tell you to," Takeshi was definitely trying to get a rise out of her now.

Shinju nodded, leaping onto the stage, "Guess so."

Takeshi chuckled a bit, preparing himself.

Shizue announced once more, "Will Takeshi, the Awe-inspiring Asshole defeat Shinju, the Exhibition Entity!? Find out now!"

"Surrender when you can..." Takeshi sped forward and punched Shinju with all of his might, causing her to cough up spit and croak in pain.

She was unable to speak as all of the air was forced out of her, and taking that as a sign to unleash his fury, he began brutally beating her in the face, knocking her around like a rag doll.

Naturally, I was already on the verge of intervening to kill him, but Akihiko and Daisuke held me back, "She has to surrender, dude."

"She can't surrender if he keeps fucking hitting her!" I yelled, quite clearly pissed off.

Takeshi smiled my way, "Awe. You're upset? I won't hurt your property... Not the parts you'd care about..." He then thrust forward, punching her to the arena floor, giving her another round of brutal punches to the face to ensure she would give up.

Shinju was bleeding from several cuts all over her head, and she hadn't said anything when the barrage had begun.

Everyone was caught off guard by Takeshi's brutality, but he merely laughed it off, "Stupid whore learned her place. I win by knockout, it seems."

Shinju didn't move at all, and with that, Takeshi took his leave.

Yoshikazu hurried into the arena to get Shinju and patch her up, and Daisuke and Akihiko held onto me until Takeshi was far gone.

"Look, I know you're mad, but just let it go for now," Daisuke tried to convince me to no avail, "We'll DEAL with him later."

I reluctantly gave in, my fists clenched so hard they hurt.

I spaced out as Yoshikazu took Shinju off, and the next fight soon began.

Granberia reluctantly exclaimed, "Will Hanako, the Master Maid move on? Or will Shizue, the Heavenly Host!?" Shizue was still donning the blue clothes with the red belt, but her gi was no longer on her.

Hanako asked, "If I win... Can you help me make an outfit later...?"

Shizue nodded, not speaking for a moment, "And if I win... You will clean for me on request!"

Hanako reluctantly nodded, and the battle began. I went back to spacing out, and Akihiko came to talk to me as the two battled fiercely.

"Listen, Shinji... I know you're mad, but don't try anything out of the ring, okay? No murdering Takeshi," he warned, "If you try anything..."

I looked him dead in the eye, "I'll make sure I do it in the arena. That way, the trial will be easy peasy."

Akihiko stood up, not amused by my honest answer, "I just told you that-"

"Don't intervene until he surrenders. That's what you fucking said," I angrily rebuked him, "Are you going to change the rules now? Like a dirty fuckin' cheater?"

Akihiko snarled at me when I said that, "I am NOT a cheater...You know what? Fine. Do what you want. I don't fucking care anymore."

I realized how tense things had become, so I tried to apologize, "Akihiko... I'm sorr-"

"Save it. I'll hear you out if you win," Akihiko cut me off and trudged off, practically grinding his teeth into dust.

At that moment, Shizue, whose hair had turned a shade of gold, knocked Hanako out of the arena, sending her flying into Kenji's outstretched arms.

Shizue laughed, as her hair returned to its original state, a dark black. She looked pretty beat up despite all of her moves, especially her left arm, which was bleeding quite badly. Hanako had definitely worked her over.

Finally, Shizue once again dressed down and motioned for Daisuke and I to get on the stage.

"Shinji, the Raging Romantic faces off against Daisuke, the Dashing Die hard!" She rang the bell.

Daisuke decided to wager high stakes, "If I win, Shinji... You gotta dedicate yourself to Shinju. You know what I mean, player."

"Deal..." I quickly replied, preparing myself mentally.

Daisuke's eyes went wide, "What, really!?"

I clenched my hands, concentrating everything on how enraged I was. With just a bit of time, I managed to copy Shizue's earlier technique, a golden aura surrounding me as my hair turned a light grey, "This is the rage of a Romantic!"

Daisuke stepped back, caught off guard by what I was doing in front of him.

"I will not let these crimes STAND! When I crush you... You will ensure that NO ONE intervenes in next week's brawl!" I commanded, my voice growing deep and raspy, hurting my throat.

Daisuke wasn't certain how he should react, so he gulped loudly and nodded, "F-f-fine."

I jumped forward, rushing him as fast as I possibly could.

Daisuke noticed my movement patterns and quickly swung in my direction, landing a hard right, "Hah! Gotcha!"

I pushed forward, moving his outstretched fist with only my face. A small trickle of blood came from my cut lip, "Got what, exactly?"

"Oh, crap baskets!" I moved my hand back as far as I could, sending it straight into Daisuke's stomach. He faltered, barely able to stand.

I jumped back, readying myself for another assault, "Tell me, Ichijou. Does a cheerleader like you experience fear!?"

Daisuke didn't respond, instead retreating a few paces. Not enough.

With all the speed my Raging Romantic self could manage, I sprinted towards him at full speed, launching a hard right directly into his face, sending him flying, blood splattering onto the arena's side as he slipped off onto the hard ground.

Daisuke struggled to pick himself up off of the ground, coughing as he wiped his face clean, "I...I give."

Akihiko only looked on in awe as I stepped down off of the stage, greeting him with a tense stare, "Sorry for the cheater remark. Was a bit far. Probably hit you in a sensitive place," I walked past him, but halted for a moment, "I won't kill Takeshi. You have my word."

With that, I stormed off to the winner table, sitting alone, since both Takeshi and Shizue were unavailable to be seated.

The final match was exciting, to say the least.

Nari, the Terrifying Tutor, faced off against Koneko, the Nasty Neko. Though both put up a good fight, Koneko eventually won with a surprise attack, catching Nari unaware.

Nari had bet for Koneko to play with her and I on occasion (oh god). Luckily for me, she lost. Instead, Nari lost, and she had to discuss something private with Koneko and offer advice.

Everyone gathered up and left, though I offered to carry Shinju back to her cottage. They handed her over, and I carried her.

Before I reached my destination, Akihiko stopped me, "That was impressive, Shinji. I look forward to next week's match."

"You shouldn't," I said with a straight face, "I know I don't."

Akihiko shook his head, "You just might be able to win, if you can harness those emotions inside of you."

I didn't really care right now, "Can I take her back now? I'm worried about her more than an arena fight. Or my prospects as a fighter."

Akihiko nervously laughed, "Yeah, I understand. See you next week, fresh meat!"

With that, he saw me off, and I ensured Shinju got back to her room safely. Though I didn't have to, I watched over her for a few hours, until she finally regained consciousness.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Halfway through the free month we had been given, the finals of the basic eight tourney were beginning. Takeshi would face off against me, and Koneko would battle Shizue for supremacy.

Before the match, I headed on down to the locker rooms to get dressed down. I was going there early, since I wanted to prepare myself with a bit of shadow boxing and such.

I entered the locker room quietly, and quickly headed over to my locker. I put in the combination and opened up the small cage. Pulling out my fighting clothes, I quickly got changed. Before I left, I noticed Akihiko at his own locker, and he dropped something as he drank from his sports bottle.

A small container rolled towards me, and I picked it up. The drug was Raxath. I recognized it from a bunch of medical infomercials. It was an experimental new performance enhancer that guaranteed maximizing one's ability to master hand-eye coordination and body building. The tragedy was that it cut the user's entire life by nearly half, killing most in their early forties.

Apparently, the way it worked also put extreme pressure on the heart muscles, and would eventually lead to a total heart failure. There were also studies linking it to increased chances of getting cancer, and causing potential kidney, lung, and even intestinal damage due to the chemical compounds in it.

Basically, it was a bottle of poison pills.

Akihiko finally noticed he had dropped his bottle, and he looked over to me, "Aw, shit."

"Akihiko? You know what this is, right?" I asked.

Akihiko quickly snatched the container out of my hand, placing it in his locker as he closed it up, "Raxath. Prescribed by my parents to make me the best boxer alive. What about it?"

"That stuff kills you, dude! You shouldn't take that!" I was quite concerned that he used such a dangerous drug.

"My trainer demands I never run out, and Monotaro was kind enough to supply me with enough to last this silly little game of his..." Akihiko tried to explain, "I need it for my workouts."

I grabbed him by the shoulder, "No, you don't. Why are you killing yourself with poison!? Do you really want to be the best boxer around!? You'll die for that title!?"

Akihiko shoved me off of him, "I'll live the way I want to. You could never understand what this means to me... I HAVE to be the best..."

I was unable to find anything to say as Akihiko walked out of the locker room, leaving me in silence.

Without much more to do in there, I hurried over to the stage and sat at the table where we awaited our fight. I would face off against Takeshi, and then Koneko and Shizue would battle. I found it amusing the top four girls were all interested in me, but I didn't mention that, lest Shinju label me a manwhore even more.

That being said, everyone eventually gathered. I took my place on the arena, not saying a word as Takeshi jumped up to face off against me.

Shizue paraded herself into the center, "The finale of the men's tourney! Will Takeshi, the All-Star Asshole be able to defeat Shinji, the Revenge-Seeking Romantic!?"

Takeshi laughed, "Never fought with my full strength before. Bring it on, bitch. When I win, you gotta leave me the fuck alone."

I grinned sinisterly, "If you lose...you have to tell me what the fuck your talent is. What it does. Understood?"

Takeshi grimaced, "I fucking hate you... Fine. I'll fuck you up anyways."

The bell rang, and I quickly assumed my Rage-induced form, speeding towards him with an angry growl.

Takeshi was much more powerful than any of us had anticipated. He must have been five or six times stronger than I was. He dodged every single one of my attacks like it wasn't anything to be concerned about, and he knocked me back with a well-timed punch.

"You..." I definitely did not see that strong show of force coming. The two of us began exchanging blows, both of us landing hard hits, neither of us compromising or surrendering a single inch.

As this battle truly began, Koneko jumped to the side of the arena, "You can do it, Shinji!"

As I turned to her, Takeshi took the advantage and unleashed the strongest attacks yet, hitting me so hard I wondered if my ribs were broken. As he knocked me to the floor and I struggled to stand up, Takeshi decided to poke the beast, "Gonna beat you like I did your girl."

I quickly jumped up and propelled myself towards him, trying to find a weakness in his stance. I found none, as he quickly sent me back to the floor. I charged again, and we exchanged a series of ruthless blows. Eventually, he knocked me back to the dirt once more.

I finally stood upright, lunging forward. He sidestepped and slammed me into the side of the arena with a hard right. Then, as if to add insult to injury, he punched Koneko when she tried to stop him from beating me down, "Ah-ah-ah! No interventions!"

Koneko flung back to the dirt covered ground, a bit of blood trickling from her right cheek. She wiped it off, looking more surprised than hurt.

With that, he must have triggered something in me. I stood up, quite angry, "Why would you..."

Takeshi chuckled, "What? Don't be mad! It could be worse! I could tie you up and fuck her in front of you! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Granberia shot up from her seat, "How did you-"

Takeshi laughed even harder, "Monotaro told me! It was hilarious! This little boy couldn't do anything while his girlfriend screamed her lungs out for them to stop! Like a looooooser!"

Snap.

Shinju took her turn to laugh, "You stupid fucking cunt..."

Takeshi turned to her, "The fuck do you want, whore?"

"You just triggered him. Nice job, fuckface..." Shinju pointed towards me, but I was already pushing all of the extra noise out.

"No... respect... No...empathy...No...intelligence...Just..." I clenched my fists hard as I stared up into the sky, "Rage! RARGH!" I shouted out, as it felt a whole new me exploded from the inside out, my hair turning a sinister teal color as my eyes turned fully white, no irises to be found. He had unleashed within me the rage of a Legendary Warrior.

"The fuck...?" Takeshi was only able to say that before I rushed forward, clothes lining him into the arena's hard floor. Picking him up, I began forcing my fist deep into his stomach, each time causing him to utter a small squeak of pain.

I continued beating him, letting him drop before delivering a hard spin punch.

Takeshi slid across the floor, barely able to get to his knees, "Fuck! Can I get some...Mercy!?"

I was already standing in front of him, "Is that another word for coffin?" I delivered the hardest blow I could deliver, punching him in his jaw so hard that a single tooth flew out. Takeshi flew off of the arena, sent past the tables into the ground even further away.

With that, I tried to calm down, though a harsh, lightning aura surrounded me for a brief time afterwards, "I guess I win..."

Shizue cheered me on my victory, and Granberia high fived me as she took Shizue's place, who went off to change.

Takeshi was unconscious, and Yoshikazu set about patching him up. I figured I would interrogate him later.

With that, I sat at the winner table, where Mayu and Akihiko both congratulated me on my fantastic battle and my shocking victory.

Shizue was back in her orange gi set up from the first round, though her arm was still bandaged up from the last fight.

Koneko was opposite of her, her arms free, the fur nice and warm on her arms. She wore a black shirt, a blue jean jacket, and tight jeans matched by her black shoes.

Shizue laughed, "When I win, our future is secured! You lose, you make your brother give me extra DNA, too!"

Koneko let out a big breath as she tried to calm herself down, "When I win, you must help me design some clothes. I have a nice idea..."

Granberia stepped forward, "Today, the Cataclysmic Cosplayer faces off against the Nigh-Unbeaten Neko Girl!"

The bell was rung, and Shizue and Koneko jumped right into it.

Shizue practically slid across the floor towards her opponent, rocketing her right fist, gloved of course, directly into Koneko's jaw. Koneko had been on her way out, so the blow was nowhere near as painful as it should have been.

Using Shizue's momentum against her, she launched her own counter attack, knocking Shizue off balance as she fell backwards, barely able to stand up straight after such an intense, heavy blow.

Quickly adjusting her body posture, Shizue unleashed her full potential, surging forth with her golden aura. She quickly dodged a series of quick jabs before connecting her fist directly to Koneko's jaw, flinging her backwards.

Koneko slid onto her feet and snarled, unleashing her feral ferocity. She quickened every motion, moving around, practically a blur for the slower people out there.

Once, twice, thrice, she clipped Shizue in the face, pushing her back as she gained ground on her opponent.

Shizue was not going to go down so easily, and she instantly snuck into her own combination of brutal strikes, continuously boxing directly into Koneko all over her stomach, chest, and face.

She must have gotten overly confident in her own skills, since Koneko soon regained the advantage with another growl, flinging attacks towards her opponent so quickly that Shizue had no alternative but to brunt the brutal attacks, getting sent back in an epic battle.

It was in this way that Koneko eventually clocked Shizue out, winning the fight and taking the championship for the females.

Akihiko was glad to finally have reached the end of the tourney, grabbing the microphone from Granberia, "And with that, Koneko has proven her abilities as an incredibly powerful fighting female. Shinji has simultaneously proven his worth! Next week, Shinji will battle me for the right to be the best male boxer, and Koneko will face off against Mayu to prove her worth in the arena!"

With that, everyone left to go back to their rooms. Shinju congratulated me on avenging her honor, though I saw her off. Once everyone else had left, I approached Akihiko.

"Aki?"

He didn't respond, gazing off into the distance, "...Been a long time since I heard that."

I decided not to ask any more on that front, "About earlier... I seriously think you need to quit taking those pills. You know what it does to you, man."

Aki shook his head, "If I quit taking them, I'll lose my title. I'll shame my family. I'll never be the very best."

"You don't need them to-"

"How do YOU know what I need!?" Aki shouted at me, surprising me.

I stood my ground, "Because I believe in you! Because you're an Ultimate! Your talent is yours! Not the meds! Just do it your own way!"

He scoffed, walking away, not dignifying my outburst with a response.

"That's my bet... If I win, you have to stop taking that shit."

Aki immediately froze, turning around in slow motion, "And what would you do if that cost me my talent? I'd be kicked out of Hope's Peak. My career might be destroyed."

What a weak argument. "Our school got us trapped here! They can't do shit! And what career!? If Monotaro is being honest, the world ended! Boxing isn't a career option anymore!"

Aki chuckled, closing his eyes, "I see. Then I must challenge your talent as well. If I win, you must forsake all romantic relationships. Forever. And that includes dropping all of the girls here."

The man drives a hard bargain but... "Deal."

Aki's eyes went wide, "Do you realize what you're doing? I'm the Ultimate Boxer. You don't stand a chance in hell."

"Like that would stop me. I'm not going to let you kill yourself... Not like this... You can be the best without those meds, and I'll beat your ass to prove it!"

"Hmph," he started walking off, "That just may be the spirit you need to even challenge me. See you next week, Shinji."

"Wait... Is this why you got mad at me? When I accused you of being a cheat?"

Aki stopped for a moment, "Yeah... Yeah, it was."

As he walked off, I lamented every life choice I had ever made to get to where I was now. I was boned. So strongly boned.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

The third week of the month. I was about to lose all of my waifus, but at least I tried, right? Maybe Aki would take my sign of strength as a reason to redeem himself. Or maybe that was all just wishful thinking.

Akihiko announced the female championship first, and though Mayu and Koneko waged a massive and entertaining battle between rivals, I was too distracted to pay enough attention to the fight between the Gnarly Neko and the Almighty Archer. Koneko eventually won by knockout with a devastating right hook.

Aki jumped up onto the stage, "Everyone, today is the time!"

I slowly got up and joined Akihiko on the stage, my shoulders slumped. Needless to say, I had trained my heart out this last week, but it wasn't enough.

"Stick a fork in me... I'm done," I commented.

Shizue jumped into the center, announcing, "Tonight is the battle of Destiny! Will Akihiko, the Aristocratic Archnemesis defeat the challenger, Shinji, the Ravishing Romantic!?"

Akihiko cracked his knuckles once more, throwing a few punches to the wind, "We made our bet previously. If Shinji wins, I'll quit using Raxath."

"What!?" Nico belted out, "That drug is poison! It kills your insides!"

"It also makes me a winner," Akihiko scowled, "If I win, Shinji has to swear off romance forever. No girlfriends, no lovers, nothing."

"What!?" This time Shinju was the most angry of the crowd.

Everyone was paying attention to the battle now, even Takeshi. Well, except for Emiko, who was reading that ill-begotten book from the library again.

Quickly assuming my Raging Romantic Mach II form, I geared myself for my timely demise.

I waited for my opponent to make the first move. I would have an advantage if- My thinking cut off abruptly as Akihiko punched me in the stomach. Coughing up spit, I tried to stand back up, but Akihiko unleashed a series of furious blows, beating me around like a worthless doll.

Eventually, he let up, "Hehehe... Nice warm up."

My right cheek was swollen, I felt a tooth missing from my mouth, and I was cut up pretty bad. Despite that, I regained my composure, "I-I'm not losing..."

I noticed a certain group of six people at the edge of the arena, observing the fight more closely. Though it gave me a small bit of comfort knowing I had their support, I didn't know what to do.

If I could outsmart Akihiko with some kind of strategy, then perhaps...

That's it!

Akihiko noticed my change of stance, "Giving up already?"

He quickly moved forward, but I anticipated this. I jumped towards him like an animal, bearing my fist downwards as I flew over him, slamming him hard into the ground.

As he quickly spun back to his feet, I let loose with several more attacks. Akihiko managed to dodge them all, having adjusted to my new tactics. He then proceeded to copy them, beating me down with a series of flighty fists sent my way.

At this point, every part of my body was hurting, but I refused to give in, "Not... Over...Yet."

With that, we both jumped forward, but he dodged my jab and delivered a sharp blow to my chest, sending me back to the floor. As I struggled to get up, he mocked me, "Looks like his love wasn't strong enough to get him to win."

Koneko shouted, "Shinji! You can win! You have the smarts to outwit wild beasts!"

"You have the bravery to face your own demise head to head," Mayu reminded me of our battle, "No matter the pain, you braved it all."

Nari chuckled, "You, lose to something like this? Haven't I taught you how to master something? By doing it. Just fight him!"

Granberia joined in, "You can win against the Grave Dangers despite the odds. You can do whatever you want to! We don't have limits, Shinji! That's why we're Ultimates!"

Her hair once more pink, Shizue laughed, a bit psychotically, "You know what'll happen if you lose, right? Do you want to break my heart? You would never...Right, Shinji?" Dear god, she was giving me the Yuno stare/smile. Hell no.

Shinju stayed quiet, not saying anything. I was surprised, since she usually had the biggest mouth of them all.

With their encouragement, I arose from my beatings, "If I lose... I... Not only is my own life basically ruined... I'll be letting you kill yourself for your career... I'd sooner..."

With their support empowering me, I rushed forward. With their support, I was invincible. I punched Akihiko directly in the face. He didn't budge, "That all you got?"

"The power of love has failed m-Gah!" He unloaded the most painful punch he had given out yet. I wondered if he had cracked one of my ribs as I staggered back, clutching my left side as I nearly fell over from the pain.

The battle was over. I had lost.

Just as I was about to surrender, I heard a voice. Hers. "You damn manwhore! Are you going to lose this fight!? If you really loved us, then how could you give in like this!?" Shinju had finally spoken up, and she had tears in her eyes, "You're going to be a total loser now!? Of all the times to lose a fight, this isn't one of them! Why didn't you think of our feelings when you made this stupid bet!?"

That one stung, "I was just trying to convince Akihiko to-"

Shinju cut me off, "You keep doing this! Throwing your life away! Making sacrifices where you don't need to! When will you stop!? You're not a hero! You're just selfish!"

"...Shinju..."

"No wonder Jun was going to dump you!"

The entire audience went silent, and even Akihiko turned around, eyes wide.

I stepped forward, "What did you..."

Monotaro popped up out of nowhere, "Now Shinju, didn't I tell you not to spoil!? Upupupupu!"

I walked a few more steps towards Monotaro, "What is she talking about!? Explain it to me now!"

Monotaro whistled, as if he was an innocent bystander, "I have NO idea what you mean... Unless it's about this book here..." He pulled out a small purple book.

No... I recognized that book. Jun's diary was just like that. But how could Monotaro have gotten a hold of it!?

Monotaro opened it up to one of the pages, "Ahe-hem! Today is my birthday, and I'm going to do it tonight. Shinji's taking me down to the pier for something special. When we get there, I plan to tell him. I loved him, at first, but I've grown out of that old me." Everyone customarily gasped at the same time, except for Shinju, who must have already known, and me. I felt a lump in my throat.

Monotaro continued reading aloud, "He doesn't have any drive, any motivations. I just think he's going to end up holding me back. He always tries to live the hero, always tries to help out strangers. Constantly missing dates with me just so he can play the savior for others. At first, it was romantic and enchanting. But now, it's all he does. People rely on him and use him like a doormat, and he has so little self-esteem, he does it all like he owes them. I can't be around that kind of person anymore. Watching him suffer like this... It's too much. I know he'll take the news hard, but I have faith he can find a way to move on and better himself. Because that is the kind of person I used to love."

Shinju sighed, clearly not pleased with Monotaro revealing all of that, "I found it in the library, and I demanded Monotaro to tell me if it was faked or not. So..."

Monotaro tossed the book to me, and I placed my hand on the very page he had read aloud, in her handwriting. It was exactly hers. Not faked, or forged. I couldn't believe Monotaro could know all of the small writing tics she had.

With that, I tossed the book back to Monotaro, not saying a word. Monotaro laughed, "Ah, the look of despair on his face! So amazing!" He then ran off, to wherever he was hiding in this damned resort.

"Akihiko..." He turned to me once I called his name, and I jumped forward, delivering a deadly blow to his stomach, "You're mine!"

 _ **Shinju's POV**_

As Shinji began battling with Akihiko, it seemed as if they were completely evenly matched. Akihiko still easily had the advantage, since he had not sustained heavy damage, but Shinji was still managing to keep up.

Granberia ran up to me, "Shinju... Why would you say that!? Don't you have faith in Shinji!?"

I didn't know what to think, "Does he really love us all that much if he risked it all?"

Koneko shook her head, "Look at him!" As she pointed towards the stage, Shinji was sent flying, blood all over his face at this point. Despite that, he wiped his eyes clean of it and charged back in, "He's suffering all of this, for us! Even after what you just did to him!"

"..." I didn't know what to say. Or rather, I did. But I was just too afraid to say it aloud. So instead I remained in unwavering silence.

Emiko jumped up from her seat and ran over, a book in her hands, "Guys! Listen! I just found something!"

Nari rolled her eyes, "Not now, Emiko! Please!"

"No, seriously! According to this book, they had an Arbiter in their custody for six months! Did tests and everything! Shinji can do more than what they told him! He can even channel and absorb others' ultimate talents!"

"What!?" Mayu exclaimed, "You mean..."

In the arena, Akihiko was now struggling to keep up with Shinji. No matter how many injuries he sustained, he continued swinging out, never compromising in his vicious attacks.

"Not only can he cancel out our talents... He can use them himself! He just needs-"

"An emotional motivation... Like Jun's confession," I clicked the pieces into place.

Emiko nodded, and as we all turned back to the arena, Shinji and Akihiko struck each other in the face. Blood flew out of their mouths, but it was Akihiko who finally dropped to the floor in unconsciousness. Shinji collapsed soon after, and Yoshikazu rushed to administer first aid to the both of them.

With those fights concluded, everyone else eventually went back to their rooms. I stayed behind, alongside the other girls. I apologized to them for my outburst, and they accepted, knowing I was just angry. I didn't know what had compelled me to say that to him, but I also knew he only won because I did. Even with that knowledge, I felt like trash.

Shinji finally awoke, ice packs covering most of his face and head to reduce the swelling, "Ahh... My everything hurts...ha...ha..."

I ran up to him, passing the others, "Shinji! Shinji, I... I'm-"

He placed his hand on mine, "I know... I screwed up... Making a bet like that without even discussing it with you guys... Way out of line. I promise... I'll never do something so stupid again..."

And with those words, he fell back into unconsciousness, with Mayu, Koneko, Granberia, Nari, Shizue, and I all crowded around him.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

The third to last day of the month left before Monotaro would deliver his first motive. We were all anxious over what that would entail, but I wasn't too frightened. We had all forged incredible bonds of friendship, and I knew we would never succumb to such petty killing.

My tune had definitely changed over time, though. I still had that nagging doubt that horrible things would happen, but the happy Shinji in me refused to bow down to such a bleak future without a fight.

Before the match, Akihiko approached me in the locker room, "Yo, Shinji. Got some news..."

I turned to him, "Yeah...?"

He awkwardly laughed, "Your advice worked out for me. Emiko said yes. I mean, I know she's weird. Didn't really know her that well until Nari tried to throttle the life out of her in front of me, with Emiko clutching a camera to her chest."

I winced as I knew exactly what he was referring to, "Yeah, haha. Crazy, right?"

Aki patted me on the back, "Seriously, though. You've been there for me, man. Working with me, helping through the withdrawal, setting us up. You actually meant well. I don't know how to thank you for this, but I promise I'll make it up to you one day."

I shrugged, "Don't worry too much about it, Aki. You helped get Shinju to forgive me for my selfishness. I... I can be a bother myself, too, but... Thanks."

Aki nodded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

As he began to leave, I decided to ask, "Aki?" he looked my way, "This might be a bit personal, and I apologize in advance, but... Why are you so pent up on winning? What made you want to be the best boxer around?"

He smiled, a wistful smile of regret but also relief, "Figured you might ask. I have an older brother. Name's Takako. He wanted to be the best boxer, too. Trained me when he was younger. The day he was going to win the world series, or try to, at least, he got into an accident. Car crash on the way to the arena."

"Oh, shit..."

"Takako saved some young girl from the mess that started after, but another car rammed the rear end. Crushed his right arm against the side and rolled over his legs. Crippled him for life. Only way he would ever walk again is if he made the money for the surgery..." he sighed, "So that's originally why I started."

"Certainly you must have made enough now, right?"

Aki wiped a tear out of his eye, "My brother died in a hospital fire. Ceiling caved in, and they couldn't get to him in time. The last thing he asked of me was to become the best boxer, like he never could. Felt it was already too late for him."

I grabbed his shoulder, "It's alright, Akihiko. I know your brother would be proud of you right now. You've become a wonderful young man. So don't worry too much about it, alright?"

Aki smiled as tears ran down his face, "And I bet... I bet if she were alive now, Jun would fall in love with you all over again. You've changed from that doormat you used to be. Grown strong, and more self-confident. Those girls did you some good, eh?"

Now I wanted to tear up. As the two of us wiped our faces clean and marched off to the arena for the final battle between the Celestial Star Shinji Kizami, and the Great Goddess Koneko Sakai, I felt a bond with Akihiko that would stand the test of time. He trusted me, and I trusted him, and that would never change. Just like war.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Strong of Heart, Sound in Mind." Akihiko has helped you realize the full potential in you that every human is capable of. This skill expands your focus gauge to its maximum (excluding levels).**

 **You have been awarded Akihiko's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	15. Takeshi's Free Time Events

**Author's Note: Apologies. Going back to college now, so it's harder to work on these with the same amount of dedication. The next chapter (which may feature some killer cosplay to** ** _die for)_** **will come out a lot sooner. ;) XD**

 _ **Free Time Events with Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic (F4)**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet (F4)**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor (F4)**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate ?**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer (F4)**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Takeshi Kurosawa was an enigma. He treated all of us like garbage, as if we were chaff to be burned away. Out of all of us, he was the only truly antagonistic entity, constantly effacing himself as if to fade out into the shadows.

He showed his clear disdain for us every waking moment, pushing us away and trying to alienate himself from group meetings. Due to Shinju and Satoshi's constant insistence, he always showed up, though reluctantly and with constantly rude comments erupting from his mouth.

A part of me was hoping he would get killed first, but life was never that easy, was it? Then someone else would have to die, just to get rid of him. So instead I searched for the alternative; a way to bridge the gap between us and try to befriend him.

Maybe he would always be incapable of liking us, but at least he could tolerate us.

One morning, as we were eating breakfast, I sat across from him at the picnic tables, "Hey, Takeshi."

"Fuck off," Takeshi didn't even look up from his bacon and eggs.

"Not so fast, buster," I warned, "I am trying to get us to cooperate, and you're not making it easy."

Takeshi scowled at this, "Yeah, yeah. I'm a nuisance and you don't want me around. Heard it all before."

I shook my head, "I just want to get to know you better."

Takeshi continued digging into his food, "How about fuck off?" When I didn't make any sign of moving, he gave in, "The fuck do you care? Just check my name. Kurosawa. There you go."

"A family renowned for professional police officers and exorcists, right? The legend of the lost village and all that?"

The Kurosawa Family traced their roots back to a village in the forest, where everyone was slaughtered at night due to a sacrificial ritual going awry. Legend said that anyone who dared enter that village would never return. The damned villagers there, along with the souls of any tourists, would suffer in all eternity for the crimes committed there.

He grunted in response, "Stupid... I don't want to get wrapped up in stupid shit like that."

I scratched my chin, "Then what do you want to do?"

Takeshi finished his food and sat up, "Live alone in the middle of nowhere and have people leave me the fuck alone."

As he got up to leave, I grabbed him by the arm, "Takeshi! Why do you want that? Don't you care about friendship? Or love? Do you really want that kind of seclusion?"

Takeshi hesitated for a moment before he cursed me out and told me to "mind my own damn business before" he "broke a foot off in my ass". That hesitation was what stood out to me, like he wasn't truly into it. This, along with his other peculiar slips, made me wonder just how much of the real Takeshi we had seen.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

One day, I stumbled into the library, bored out of my mind. I had finished my anthropology book, and though I had yet to finish Penpal, it was evening, and the sun had already gone down. In other words, eff that noise.

Trudging slowly up the stairs to reach the second floor, I discovered much to my surprise that Takeshi was on the far side of the room, where he could easily overlook the main entrance. Instead of that, however, he was involved in reading his own book, which I could not see from this distance.

With much reluctance, I decided to greet Takeshi, "Hi, Takeshi. What are you reading?"

Takeshi looked up from his book, giving me a very cold and unwelcoming stare, "It's called Shut the Fuck up and leave me alone. Great read. Mind doing what the damn thing asks?"

"Takeshi, why do you always have to act like this? Do you want everyone to hate you!?"

"Do you ever stop and use your brain to understand why Monotaro gave us a free month?" I shook my head, so he continued, "I did. I used my brain, unlike the rest of you idiotic addlepates. He wants us to get all friendly and nice, and then start murdering each other. More despair that way."

This time I chuckled a bit at his foolishness, "You think we don't know that? Satoshi led that discussion; we are very aware of Monotaro's machinations."

Takeshi closed his book and got up, sliding it under his arm, "Then you stupid bastards will suffer the consequences. And especially you. How long will it take? How many of your girlfriends have to die before you snap, huh? Before you end up a broken shell?"

I didn't want to discuss something quite so depressing, but it looks like I had to, "I'll protect them. Until my dying breath. Because unlike you, I actually give a fuck!"

"Hey! Fuck you!" Takeshi swung at me, punching me to the floor. Before I could respond, he took a step back, looking quite surprised at his own actions. As he leaned against the wooden railing, we both heard a crack of wood before he fell back, screaming in terror.

I quickly got up to my feet and ran over, only to find Takeshi clinging to the edge of the floor, "Takeshi, grab my hand!"

I leaned over and reached my hand out to him, but he didn't move, "Hell no! You'll drop me! I'm not stupid!"

"Would it kill you to trust me!?" I shouted back. When he didn't answer, I angrily grunted, grabbing him by his arm and forcing him up over the side. He struggled against me, but I lifted him over the side and let go.

Takeshi didn't say anything, just breathing heavily and staring at me in disbelief. Eventually, he spoke, "Just because you saved me doesn't mean I'm ever going to trust you."

Before I could give him some kind of witty retort, I heard another crack, and the floor and railing next to me collapsed. I screamed as I fell to the floor, landing on and crushing a wooden table to the floor.

From what Shinju later told me, I passed out on impact, and Takeshi had gone to get Yoshikazu to help me before quickly making his leave.

Takeshi really did have a heart, didn't he?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Some days are just destined to be hell. This was one of them.

It had reached the halfway point as exactly two weeks had passed. Monotaro had asked us all to gather for an address, where he ensured to fill us with despair and surprises.

Satoshi told us all to stay strong, as he expected for Monotaro to try his hardest to prod us into doing something stupid, always trying to get under our skin. As long we stood strong, his motives and suggestions would fall like paper against the strong winds of friendship we had forged. Shinju had written him the speech, apparently.

The eighteen of us gathered outside at about 9 PM, just before night time began. This wasn't the first meeting; Monotaro had called us together to introduce other new changes or announcements. For example, the locker rooms, activated only by members of the rooms' respective gender, now gave times for when people checked in or out. For security purposes, he said.

This time he had hyped it up, so there was going to be a bit more information to be had, "Welcome, everyone! Are you enjoying your free month!?"

Nari rolled her eyes, "Hurry on with this, already. I've got things to do."

Monotaro chuckled, hiding his small mouth with his paws, "Antsy, aren't you? Let's hope your impatience doesn't cost you anything! Upupupupu!"

Satoshi made his way towards the stage, calmly but with a clear purpose, "Please, go on. You said you wanted to discuss something with us. I imagine it's about the memories you stole, hm?"

"Aren't you a smart one!? You really do make a good leader, hm?"

Kibou nodded, clutching to Satoshi's arm, "He always has been!"

Monotaro nodded, "Then I shall begin. The year you were all set to join the school was the year Junko seized control of the school, and when the world fell into a darkness. As despair overtook the entire world, Headmaster Kirigiri had you all sent here, to this resort. It was built in the seventies as a location where classes would be brought on school trips."

"Hence why it's got the logo of the school on the cups and walls," Nico commented, demonstrating his attention to detail.

"For eight months, you all lived here in a harmonious resort life. Then the member of Ultimate Despair rose up and manipulated a second person amongst you to trap the other sixteen and lock them away," Monotaro laughed, "So evil, am I right?"

"Manipulated? So two of us can't be trusted?" Mayu didn't beat around the bush when it came to betraying the group. Mayu took that kind of threat very seriously.

Monotaro chuckled with his trademark sinister smile, "I'll get to it, relaaaaaaax. For the next four months, the Ultimate Despair helped manage the creation of a facility further up on the mountain, where they placed a magical machine that could replicate events or memories. Combining it with the memory erasing technology produced by one Yahsuke Matsuda and company, they built this super cool machine! Then the two traitors locked you all up in machines, hooked you up to a grid, and began the Simulation of Despair!"

"Simulation of Despair!?" Granberia was especially concerned with that name, "That's...crazy talk, right?"

"Why didn't some people give in to despair? That was the question Junko wanted an answer to. So the two traitors ran simulations of killing games, over and over and over, causing incredible amounts of suffering and emotional trauma to you all. They treated it like a game; after all, nobody important was harmed, right?"

Nico shook his head, "Even if it didn't kill anyone, that kind of experiment is sick! There's a reason psychologists swear to ethics now!"

Monotaro shrugged, "What do you expect from people without morals? Anyways... They did this for a full year. During that time, they constantly brought suffering to the rest of you guys. But then! They had a fight, a disagreement! Honestly, I have no idea what happened, as I was unable to even find out which was which!"

"So you don't even know who the last member of Ultimate Despair is!?" Shinju was quite annoyed at Monotaro's laissez-faire attitude towards all of this.

"Nope! That data was erased by the one who turned away from the experiment! After locking up their former ally up into the machine as well, they destroyed most of the sensitive data and locked away all of that trauma. Then they ran a peaceful simulation, and let you all become happy go lucky friends," Monotaro laughed like a crazed maniac, before bowing to us.

"You mock us, do you?" Akihiko was shaking his head in disappointment.

Monotaro began speaking again after he bowed, "Future Foundation was created by people who still held onto hope. Their brutal and ruthless practices, alongside their businesslike professionalism and their willingness to sacrifice countless lives for their own ends, eventually led to a schism between them and the survivors of Hope's Peak. Those same survivors managed to deal with the Remnants of Despair themselves and soon after formed their own organization. I came here with three others, all of us loyal recruits of Future Foundation sent here to collect data on the Remnants of Despair. While we were here, the organization fell. But we lucked out; we found this research and other sensitive information!"

Satoshi shook his head, "But then why are we here, without our memories!? Why make us play this game!?

Monotaro continued, "Because I could not determine who Ultimate Despair was, I set up this game. The same monster who betrayed their ally also damaged their own memories and those of their partner. As such, I have been unable to access the traitor's true identity. My curiosity demands I find out who it is. So I made a game."

"Game? What the fuck are you talking about!?" Nico was also pretty annoyed by them as well.

Monotaro stepped up to the edge of the stage, "I returned you to the state you were in when you first arrived, memory wise. Then I released you from the machines and placed you all in that classroom. Now you are all alive and awake, here in the real world. I intend to watch you kill each other!"

Shinju was also becoming furious, "So you're going to force us to kill each other because of what Ultimate Despair and their partner did!? Why drag us into it!? Just take the two of them and give them a trial or something!"

"Yes," Yoshikazu agreed, "Making sixteen innocent people participate in a killing game such as this just to oust the identity of the true traitor is both nonsensical and cruel. Or do you want to be as bad as the monsters you're chasing?"

Monotaro laughed hysterically as he slowly regained his composure, "The world is trying to heal, but mine died long ago. So I don't care. About those of you that are innocent, of the pawn... To hell with you all!

Nico's eyes widened, "They... Whoever is controlling you has gone completely insane, is that it!?"

"I guess you could say that... Regardless, while you all are forging bonds, I am running through the massive amounts of data, trying to discern who is the Ultimate Despair member amongst you all. And who is the pawn."

Koneko tilted her head, "So you know who both are, right? You just can't tell which is which?"

Monotaro wiped sweat off of his brow, "Uh... I have no idea what you're talking about! But I do have this last tidbit for you; as you all now know, that traitor is responsible for all of your suffering, as well as mine. So you must want to know about how I found a way to reveal their identity, yes?"

"You can do that!?" Emiko exclaimed, "Some kind of psychological analysis? Or do you intend to test out some new hypotheses we are not yet aware of?"

"Calm down, nerd," Daisuke was mostly joking as he held her back from leaping onto the stage.

Monotaro pulled a small black shard out from behind his back, giving off black wisps of what seemed to be smoke, "The Despair Fragments! As you may know by now, your bonds have been granting you Hope Fragments! Despair Fragments are the opposite! Whenever a despair-filled event occurs, one will be created or gathered! This one was forged just this week! Eleven more events like that? The memories of Despair will awaken, and the traitor will revert to their original self! Once that happens? The End Game begins! So try not to get murdered until we forge and gather all six!" As he said this, he disappeared quickly, leaving us all in thought.

Nari spoke up first, "Takeshi's probably the bastard, anyway. He's a total asshole; of course he'd revel in our suffering."

"How about fuck you?," Takeshi quickly refuted her accusation, "She who throws the first stone is the bitch that did it!"

"Guys!" Satoshi yelled, "Stop arguing! It will get us nowhere. Monotaro is likely lying to us to manipulate us. And even if one of us is Ultimate Despair, they don't even remember it! So they wouldn't be a threat!"

Nico spoke up, "It could be you, if that's true. Maybe you coerced Kibou into working with you... Really, anyone here who's close to people could have. Takeshi's the least likely, following that logic."

Takeshi nodded, "Exactly! This kind of shit is why I never get close to people!"

"This kind of shit? Have you been through something like this before?" Granberia asked, paying careful attention to his words.

"Yeah, I have. Not killing games, but some fucked up shit. So I know better. I'm not trusting any of you; humans are a bunch of dirty traitors who throw others under the bus to get ahead in life," With that, he started walking off.

I ran after him, grabbing his arm, "Takeshi! We need to be a team! Monotaro is counting on us splitting apart!"

Takeshi shook me off quite roughly, "And fuck you, too! How many times do I have to push you away!? Maybe next time I'll let you bleed out on the library floor."

"You wouldn't do that, though. You're not a horrible person, deep down!" I tried arguing with him, to no avail.

Takeshi struck me, "You don't know me!" He ran off before I could argue anymore, leaving us all in silence.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

It was two days after the second round of Akihiko's tournament. I had not spoken to Takeshi in a long while due to his mistreatment of Shinju.

Naturally, I tried to avoid him at breakfast. I was concerned that I might end up attacking him were he to attempt to goad me into a fight before our scheduled match. Instead, I sat beside Shinju, who was still healing up, and Koneko, and I didn't bother to look up from our table. Shizue, Mayu, Nari, and Granberia joined us on the other side, and even Emiko scooted in on my side to talk face-to-face with Nari herself.

Daisuke, Yoshikazu, and Akihiko were discussing things related to exercise. Satoshi, Kibou, Kenji, and Hanako had all grown closer to each other as well, discussing things amongst themselves. Nico and Takumi were odd ones out this morning, since Nico was still trying to be cautious of other people. As for Takumi... he's Takumi, after all.

Takeshi showed up late as expected, since it had become a part of his morning routine. He quickly snatched up his food from the cafeteria counter and wolfed it down in a matter of a minute or so, doing his best to rush himself.

As he began walking away from us, he decided that he, like Takumi, didn't know when or how to stop.

 _ **Mayu's POV**_

The slime ball referred to as Takeshi approached our table, giving us all a cocky smirk. Just seeing his face was enough to make me want to punish him properly for his attitude and actions.

I was more concerned with Shinji at this time, however. Though he was typically a calm and sociable person, what Takeshi had done really got under his skin. I didn't enjoy watching him suffer, but I could not intervene in a fight that was his.

"Shinji? What, not going to try and befriend me this morning? Still mad about that property damage?" Takeshi flaunted his victory over Shinju, reveling in his own brutality.

Shinji glared at Takeshi with fire in his eyes, and an intent to murder, "You'll be happy to know I've given up on scum like you."

Takeshi clutched his own chest, faking a battle wound, "Bestill, my heart! Am I finally free of your insufferable bullshit?"

Shinji turned to Koneko, ignoring his prodding, "Koneko, any updates? You know, about that wild animal we wanted to tame..."

Koneko shrugged, "Uh, not yet, no..."

Takeshi grunted, "Wow... Didn't actually think you'd give... Guess my work's done." Takeshi stalked off, leaving all of us to our breakfast meal.

He almost sounded... disappointed?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

I arrived at the makeshift infirmary inside the arcade, made on the small second floor above the game room. Walking upstairs, I knocked on the door, "Takeshi? It's time."

Disregarding his angry response, I walked inside, quite pleased with how many cuts and bruises I had inflicted upon him in our momentous battle. I grabbed a steel folding chair and opened it up, setting it aside his bed, "You owe me, remember? Your talent. What it does. Now."

"What? No half-assed attempt to act like my friend?" Takeshi countered.

"I'm done with you, Takeshi. If you want to make everyone hate you, there's clearly nothing I can do to change your mind. So give me the info I want, and you'll never be bothered by me again," I calmly shot him down, not leaving room for argument.

Takeshi seemed a bit forlorn as I rebuked him, but he nodded, "Survivor. Ultimate Survivor. I get caught up in all kinds of disasters, and everyone around me dies horribly. No matter the tragedy. Trapped inside a series of caves. Lost in the woods. Locked inside a school with a serial killer. I always make it out alone. My friends, my family... Everyone else is never spared."

That actually made a lot of sense. I stopped to think about that for a moment, "I see. That's why you push us away. You blame yourself."

"Hey, don't try to psychoanalyze me, you pompous bitch!" He shouted back, though he was unable to hit me this time.

"Fine. That's all I needed to know..." I got up to leave, but before I exited the room, I looked back, "But if you ever get tired of this lifestyle you got... You ever want friends again... I'll still be here. Even if I should know better by now..."

I left the room, leaving Takeshi to his thoughts. From what it sounded like, he had it rough. Maybe we'd never see eye to eye, and maybe he'd never make friends here, but I hoped he might be able to change.

Worst case scenario, I'd just have to kick his ass from time to time. And that was fine, too. If anything, that was how Takeshi and I expressed any care for each other. Not the healthiest relationship, but it was a start.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Bullsh*t Deflector". While Takeshi and you are still not amicable towards each other, you have finally managed to understand him better. This skill allows you to fire two bullets at the same time during Panic Talk Action.**

 **You have been awarded Takeshi's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	16. Shizue's Free Time Events

_**Author's Note: Second longest chapter? I think. Only three left to do. These last few have been expanding not just on the character we're spending time with, but also the plot itself and other characters as well. As for this one, it's a bit of a doozy. When it's not making fun of itself. Ultimates are broken, yo. Also, Yanderes. Hopefully the next one will be up within a week or two.**_

 _ **Free Time Events with Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic (F3)**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet (F3)**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor (F3)**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate Survivor**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Shizue was a kind girl who didn't stand out too much. This was probably a good thing, what with all the eccentric people here. Despite that, Shizue very rarely cosplayed as different characters. I decided to try and hang out with her one day, though I asked her not to cosplay when we did, since I wanted to get to know her personally. To be honest, I didn't fully believe her talent allowed her to become who she cosplayed as. I'd never say that aloud, though.

As to what we were going to do, I had virtually no clue. I figured we'd just wing it. Because I didn't really know what to expect, I went to the cafe to get a drink and prep myself mentally, only to find the girl in question talking with Mayu, Nari, and Shinju.

"Well, that's an interesting combination. Plotting world domination?" I joked, quoting something Kenji had accused them of earlier.

Shinju playfully stuck her tongue out at me, "Wow, rude. The four of us were just talking about having a binge watch. Mayu wants to watch some new stuff, and Shizue heard us talking about it."

I turned to Nari, who glared at me, as if daring me to say anything, "What? Nari's a total otaku, too?"

Nari quickly moved towards me threateningly, "If you need an ass whooping, I'm willing to dish it out. I don't need your petty judgements!"

"What? No! I think it's cool. I mean, what's it matter to me what tastes you have? Hobbies don't really reflect a person's worth, you know?" She gave me a very suspicious glance before turning her nose up from me, "Eh, believe me or not. I can't change your mind."

"No, you can't," Nari replied, defiant as ever, "Shinju, let us go! Before this pitiful Romantic earns my ire."

I smirked, deciding to make a mistake I'd soon regret, "Yeah, don't wanna be late to your lezzing out session, right?"

When Nari was finally done with her slapping assault, she huffed off, followed by Shinju. Mayu left soon after, and only Shizue remained.

She lended me her hand, and I gripped it as she pulled me to my feet, "Masochistic, aren't you?"

I shrugged, "Telling it like it is. Emiko asked me to tease her about it, maybe get her to make a move." I brushed the dirt off of my clothes, feeling so much aching pain in my right cheek.

"What if Nari takes your little Shinju from you, though?" Shizue joked, poking me in my side.

"She's not _my_ Shinju. Her life choices are hers to make. I'm not particularly interested in getting into relationships here, you know? A killing game seems like I'd have a bad time doing that..." It was true that I was very wary of anything like that.

Unfortunately, I had found myself thinking of certain people in my free time, and brief images would flash inside my brain, situations that had never occurred. They were so realistic, though, that I wondered if I could just reach out and touch what I saw in my head. Perhaps it had something to do with the memories Monotaro had taken from me? Regardless, I didn't wish to leave myself so vulnerable to despair.

Shizue decided to continue teasing me, "Okay, Mister Anime man. For a second, I thought you might be planning to make yourself a harem."

"I'm not Takumi," I said dryly, "Which reminds me... I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out with me. I'm trying to devote some time to everybody here. Even the more... verbose classmates of ours."

"I'm very much aware. I have a keen eye for details, you know? As one should expect from a cosplayer like myself..." Shizue proudly proclaimed, "A master of the trade like me has certain expectations to live up to!"

I nodded, "I remember your match with Shinju. Excellent choice of character, Miss Z Fighter."

Shizue blushed at this, "I just hate losing, alright? It wasn't anything more!"

"Then what about your bet? Breaking the 'Shinju monopoly' on me? Sounded like you had a beef about me," I raised my eyebrow at this, gauging her reaction.

She tried her best to play it off, "Oh, that. We were just having a discussion about things, you know? Fair playing field and all that."

Fair playing field? I slowly nodded, "Okay, then. Whatever floats your boat. I won't pry in your affairs. Just wanted to talk with you, is all."

She looked away from me for a moment, "I can dress up as basically anyone, if you want. With the supermarket and Yoshikazu's help, I have unlimited potential here!"

"I'd rather talk to the regular Shizue, though. I want to get to know you better; not some characters."

"What, really?" Was it that surprising?

I held out my hand, "Well, of course! I mean, your talent is cool as all hell, but it's not like it defines you. Certainly there's other interesting things about you, right?"

Shizue didn't immediately respond, and as every second dragged on, I wondered if people had ever actually treated her normal self properly, "I mean... If you're certain..."

"I'm just going to get this out of the way now, just in case," she looked up into my eyes tentatively,"Whatever way people treated you outside of here, don't expect that from me. I've never judged people by their skills or any criteria like that. If I did, I'd have given up on myself a long time ago. My talent is garbage, my circle of friends is almost nonexistent, and I'm downright pitiful at times. If you're willing to put up with all that's wrong with me, I'll go to the ends of the Earth for you in kind. It's who I am."

Her cheeks flushed, and I imagined it was because of how embarrassing I was being, but she eventually replied, "Okay. I'll put my trust in you."

As she said that, an image flashed in my mind. Shizue had collapsed in my arms, and she had a large wound on her side. I realized that tears were streaming down my face, and she smiled one last time before closing her eyes, never to open them again.

"Shinji? Shinji, is there something wrong?" I was quickly brought back to reality when Shizue grabbed my shoulder and shook me awake, a concerned look on her face, "You had this really sad look on your face all of a sudden. Was it something I said?"

I quickly shook my head, "No, of course not. I was just having a bad daydream, I guess? That must be it..."

Shizue contemplated that for a moment, but she eventually sighed in relief, "Okay, good. Thought I might have upset you by accident. So, whatcha wanna do?"

I put my hand to my chin as I contemplated some possibilities, "I'd be content to just sit down and talk with you over some nice cold drinks, really. I don't mind going outside and getting physically active, but between Daisuke's morning runs, Hanako's cooking sessions, Akihiko's training, and everything else I'm up to here, I would definitely be down for some relaxation."

Shizue laughed at the pathetic face I was making, "Ohoho, I see. Want some distractions from the grueling workouts people have been putting you through here. I can understand that. Then you sit right here and I'll make us the drinks.

"You don't have to..." She motioned for me to take a seat, and I did. Within a few minutes, she had made both of us a milkshake, and upon tasting mine, I was hit with a cornucopia of delicious flavors, despite the fact it looked like plain old vanilla.

"I learned some pretty good recipes during my time at some of the conventions. I was hoping to go to the World Cosplay Summit and awe them with my dedication, but with the world ending and all, probably still not a feasible dream to have, right?" She sounded down about that last part.

I decided to try and improve the mood, "So how did you even get into cosplay? Did your friends bug you into it or was it a club at your school?"

Shizue cracked her knuckles before taking a sip of her drink and giving me her straightforward answer, "Actually, my grandfather was one of the earliest animators. Takahiro Koga loved the invention of manga, and sought to bring his favorite ones to life. He always said that the best way he could benefit the world was by unlocking the creative childlike minds in people and bring that out to the surface."

"Sounds like a pretty amazing dude," I commented, occasionally taking a small sip of my own drink.

"He even helped design campaign animations for that one guy who became Prime Minister. Toranosuke Ishimaru, I think it was. When he died in the nineties, he was given honourable mention. The ninja Gym Leader from Pokemon was based off of him, and his daughter Janina was actually my mom. Pretty cool, right?" Shizue spoke with such pride of her grandfather, and it was rare to see her so carefree.

I set my drink aside, "Wow, that's actually really interesting. So was your mom interested in it, too?"

Shizue shook her head, "No, she never got into it like he did. When she was younger, she enjoyed it, but it never really caught on. When she married my dad, though, he was practically dying to continue in Takahiro's footsteps. The journey of animator Renji Koga began! Naturally, he raised me and my older siblings on the stuff."

"You have siblings too, huh?" I didn't expect that so many of my classmates would have siblings, but considering how normal it was for a lot of them, it was hard to think I was an odd one out.

"My older brother Hisao went on to work for Key, that famous visual novel company. Clannad, Air, Angel Beats. He wrote and helped animate for all of them," she laughed for a brief second, "He's a bleeding heart, kind of like you. My older sister Saeko specialized in business, and she was running the more economic aspects of my dad's company. Koga Industries is renowned for its strict guidelines on quality and work ethics, so even though it's more expensive to produce with, the end product is always something to be desired by massive amounts of manga artists. Even foreign companies are trying to capitalize on the recent global expansion that we have been experiencing."

That was certainly true. The idea that Japanese cartoons and comics were becoming a worldwide economic force was mind blowing in a lot of ways, as it mirrored a kind of entertainment expansion not seen since the advent of video games or the home computer. Numbers from Japan's government itself had estimated the numbers brought in by this and other Otaku related services to be a multi-billion dollar industry, with no end in sight.

"And unlike them, you somehow ended up getting into cosplay, hm?"

Shizue chuckled a bit, "Well, I'm not adept with drawing or mathematical equations. I just liked to do practical things, like cooking or sewing. Then one year, my parents and I made a trip to America. Our American branch needed to discuss something about a show dad was making... It was during Halloween. I saw all of these kids, and they all had these adorable or scary costumes on... When we came back to Japan, I was so sad we never went that far."

I nodded, unable to contain a bit of laughter, "Yeah, the Americans know how to blow a holiday out of proportion."

"So when I returned, I made my own costume and went to school. None of them expected to take a class with the real Sailor Moon. Turns out my personality totally changed, and it worked on any character; even became Wonder Woman for a couple of days," Shizue was a bit embarrassed by that fact, since she had stopped addressing me with eye contact.

"So you really enjoy your talent, huh?" I asked, prepared to notice any kind of facial expression that might betray her true thoughts.

Shizue nodded, much more slowly than she had been before, "I think so? As you can imagine, lots of people always want me to dress up. It's fun in moderation, but after a while..."

I admitted, "Same for me. One of my only constructive hobbies is writing. It's great for relaxing, but do it too often and you burn out. I like writing for other people's pleasure, but when it begins to feel like a job..."

"Right? I'm glad I have this talent and everything. I love having fun like this, but other people underestimate how much work it is. That's how Nico and I met. We could sympathize with each other," Shizue explained, "He loves his fan base, but there's a lot of people that nag him to do stuff. Hard to be recognized for your talent."

I nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I get what you mean by that. I'm kinda happy my talent is basically worthless. Not in high demand."

She shook her head, "Come now, Shinji. It could be a really useful talent. Certainly, it motivates you when you write? I figured you're the kind of person who'd be a little more proud about your skill, ya know?"

"Nah, it's not a skill or anything. I can't use it... Never helped me w-when...when I needed it," I was unable to stop myself from choking up a bit as I remembered some rather unpleasant memories, "Sorry, just had a bad thought or too. I'm a scatterbrain, clearly."

Shizue shook her head, "Awe, don't worry. I like that in my company."

I laughed a bit, rubbing my hand through my hair as I was wont to do when I didn't know what to say, "Then I'll be happy to be myself when I'm around you."

With that statement, she smiled, and we found ourselves talking about other random topics for a while.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

A few days had gone by uneventfully, and I was quite pleased that I was making progress with befriending the other people at the resort with me. There was a voice in the back of my mind that was always screaming at me to lock myself up in my cottage room until I was certain I would never be harmed. Despite the fact that I ignored it, one always had to be aware of what someone might try to pull.

I really wanted to believe in my friends, but whenever Nico analyzed someone's actions or Nari and Takumi got into a fight, or when Takeshi would purposefully antagonize someone, I was always slightly concerned that one day someone might go too far.

I wasn't in the slightest bit afraid for Shizue, however. She was one of the kindest and most level-headed people here. Then again, she was also quiet and easily scared, which made her even more precious, in a way. Spending time with her was really enjoyable, and I had even... Well, thinking about stuff like romance is pointless here.

Those visions of days gone by had increased in frequency ever since Granberia had tapped into my trauma. At random times, I would experience a memory of something that never happened, but it was often mentally disturbing or emotionally traumatic.

One in particular, I decided to investigate. I found myself on the second floor of the library, my eyes scanning every last bit of the ceiling for what I had seen in my vision. If what Monotaro told us about our past experiences was true, it was of the utmost importance to verify his claim.

After searching a little while longer, I found the object of my desire. A small cord, the kind you would assume attached to a light fixture, dangled from the ceiling. Ensuring I was alone in the library, despite it being midday, I pulled on it as hard as I could.

Stairs flopped down before me, a secret compartment to what I presumed to be an attic-like structure built over the library. With that, I quickly walked up the stairs, interested in what I would find.

Pulling the stairs up after me, I looked around. Up here, the only things I noted of any interest were a set of books next to a small couch and a pile of magazines. Someone had made this place as their own personal reading station, which I didn't really care about.

What worried me was the lack of dust on the furniture. Even the lamp next to the couch was free of dust and plugged into the small electric outlet on the side of the wall. Further on, there was a balcony, and walking up to it, I saw a beautiful overlook, the deep blue ocean below. The salt water was our only indication we were somewhere touching the Pacific Ocean, but considering how much coastal land Japan had, that gave us no clue as to where we were.

"What are you doing up here?"

"What the fuck!?" I fell forward before catching myself, turning around to see a slightly confused Shizue, "Shizue? You know about this?"

Shizue reluctantly nodded, "I discovered it... by accident. How did you?"

I didn't want to lie, but if I told the truth, she might think I'm crazy, "I... had a weird dream. Dreamt of some crazy stuff. One part was this secret attic. Decided to see if it was just a dream..."

"It was a daydream, wasn't it? You've been having visions of stuff that haven't happened, right?" I gave her a very serious look, and she waved her hands, "I'm not accusing you of anything! It's just... I've seen some things that really freaked me out, and... No one else has mentioned anything about it..."

As she said this, something clicked in my mind, "Koneko... She might have had one, too. She found this secret area down at the park. A hidden door, and a whole forest... If more than just me is having these visions... She could very easily have seen it in one of them..."

Shizue walked a bit forward, "So... It's not just me...?"

I nodded, "Looks like it. So uh... You must be the one using that couch, right? Anything important up here?"

"I think Monotaro doesn't know about this place..." she moved and picked up a small black folder and handed it to me, "This has data on the Foundation... Twelve members of the Foundation were sent here. Nine of them were killed in the initial breakthrough... Some Monokuma robots were left here and picked them off, one by one. The three survivors... Kenta Sakai... Fuuko Yokai... Kiyo Isshiki..."

At this point, my mind basically exploded. I ran over and looked over the documents, rereading them maybe a hundred times, not believing what was right in front of me. As I looked at the deceased, I noticed a disturbing pattern. Dojima Ikeda, Chikako Okishima, Chihaya Kawasaki... Each and every person was related to one of us here. Everyone I easily linked except for Fuuko, but in that regard I would have to wait until someone told me more about themselves.

"Kiyo... He's one of my best friends... And..." The twelfth name finally stood out to me. Takuro Ibara, ninth terminated upon preventing an explosion from killing the group. I dropped to my knees, "Him...too?"

Shizue picked the notebook up from me and looked over it, sitting on her knees, "Did you know these guys...?"

I punched the ground in anger, "Takuro and Kiyo were my best friends. And Takuro died coming here...Why!?"

"Well... Says they came to rescue us. Joined the Foundation to locate their lost family, and were sent here when we were located. Ultimate Despair here left a trap that killed almost all of them. They managed to get in, and they left this behind..." Shizue explained, handing me a second folder.

I read it aloud, "Test Subjects. Generation Four. Total Number, 22. Variation of two due to unforeseen circumstances. Project resumed two years later." I dropped it onto the floor, "The hell?"

Shizue shrugged, pulling it off of the floor, "Academy was testing something out. One group of the Academy thought talent could only be forged later in life, and this led to the Izuru Kamakura Project. Another group believed they could program in talent at birth. Not just any talent, though... Talents that..."

The longer she hesitated, the more concerned I became, "That what?"

Opening the book up, she pointed to some very familiar faces, "Subject 000. Nagito Komaeda. Talent: Ultimate Luck. Maybe they should have specified good luck..."

I didn't understand, "Why is this important? Nagito was lucky, so?"

"Just lucky? A fist-sized meteor struck and killed a man right after he hijacked the plane Nagito was on. That is just statistically impossible. And those kinds of circumstances happened to him daily. His luck involved anomalies of mathematical calculations," Shizue tried to explain.

"So bullshit powers, right?" I laughed a bit, but Shizue stayed stone-faced.

Shizue moved the page, "Subject 001. Junko Enoshima. Talent: Infallible Charisma. The woman was gifted at birth with immense powers involving manipulating people. They imagined she'd be a politician to unite the world under one banner. She did... Just under despair. Mukuro's birth complicated things, though. They were not expecting twins. Mukuro's ability as a soldier was deadly. She was literally unkillable. People fired at her face point blank with shotguns and she emerged from the conflicts unscathed. So long as she was combat ready, she was indestructible."

"Damn, that's kind of broken... So they halted it after her birth for a bit...?" I questioned.

"Then they picked it up again... The next page; Subject 003. Makoto Naegi. Talent: Endless Optimism. How he managed to become Ultimate Hope... He almost ended up not going, but due to some incredible luck, he did. Maybe Nagito's luck intervened to create the Ultimate Hope... Makes sense, considering his obsession."

I laughed, "They can't get this shit right once, can they?"

Shizue opened up the next page, "Subject 004 to 021 should all be very familiar..."

I looked through the next pages, and I nearly exploded from the sheer amount of mindfuckery that was laid out on those pages.

Subject 004. Takumi Adachi. Talent: Unfounded Sex Appeal. Can attract the opposite sex without trying by his mere presence.

Subject 005. Shinju Sakyubasu. Talent: Mind Link. Can use the written word to bring what is in her mind directly into others, the purest form of expression. Prefers poetry above all else.

Subject 006. Koneko Sakai. Talent: Life Link. Can communicate with all living beings, from trees to birds to tigers, allowing for advanced inter species communication.

Subject 007. Yoshikazu Shinozaki. Talent: People Person. Can understand people's needs intuitively and respond, though it is limited by practicality. Does not work on emotional examination.

Subject 008. Akihiko Tanaka. Talent: Peerless Performance. Can improve at physical activities with ease. Advanced cardio and other biological changes to maximize athletic performance.

Subject 009. Nari Kawasaki. Talent: Unrivaled Understanding. Can easily convey new ideas and topics to others with great ease. Very adept at explaining things and conveying meaningful messages to others.

Subject 010. Emiko Norita. Talent: Emotional Intelligence. Has an unparalleled amount of emotional intelligence, able to easily read people emotionally and mentally. Intelligent but also slightly unstable. Further studies required.

Subject 011. Takeshi Kurosawa. Talent: Cursed Existence. Similar to Nagito, Takeshi has horrible luck. Horrible things never befall Takeshi, but all who come close to him suffer the embrace of death. Examination of the psychology of socially deprived individuals in observance.

Subject 012. Redacted. Known by fans as Nico B. Talent: Statistical Anomaly. Changes to his performance directly affect others. Improvements on test scores or subscriber count also simultaneously increases everyone else's in the same environment by the same amount. His scores directly affect others' performance. Tested on: Popularity, Academic Performance, Athletic Performance. Other tests inconclusive.

Subject 013. Shizue Koga. Talent: Amorphous Entity. Can physically transform into other beings and even directly changes physics around her. By thought, she can change her body type, species, intellectual level, physical appearance, and even psychological aspects, such as memories, conditioned responses, and more. So far, only unlocked by cosplaying. Can transform into Saiyans, Hollows, Demons, Angels, and other unidentified alien races.

I looked up after reading this one, "R-really? You can actually turn into a Saiyan?"

"What did you think my fight with Hanako was? I didn't just fight like a Saiyan; I became one," Shizue calmly nodded, "I can't control it unless I cosplay, but it explains a lot. I've grown cat ears and changed bust size, and all other kinds of things just by dressing up. Can even become a dude."

I choked down all of my questions of how the fuck any of that could actually be realistically possible. Then I remembered that a teenage girl ended the world and Nagito's luck literally defied all logical explanations, so I dropped it. Must be in some kind of anime world, at this point.

Subject 014. Kenji Amagi. Talent: Chemical Creator. Affects chemical compounds at molecular levels, and can even change the atomic structure of them. Defies all known laws of physics. Cannot do it intentionally; 1,073 accidents recorded so far.

Subject 015. Hanako Ikeda. Talent: Manual Master. Can perform virtually any physical or mental task with relative ease, mastering hands on work topics faster than any known rate previously found. Does not apply to things that cannot be physically manipulated or cooking. Learns everything else naturally.

Subject 016. Satoshi Hondo. Talent: Planning Perfectionist. Can create perfect strategies for dealing with almost any situations possible, and reacts quickly to any new stimuli in his environment. Does not work on situations with other Ultimates; relatively clueless in this area. Further testing requested.

Subject 017. Kibou Iwata. Talent: Complete Comprehension. Can make mental maps of pages on information instantaneously and directly integrate that information into her mental framework. Able to understand entire subjects through reading books, and has qualified for every major worldwide university by the age of seven.

Subject 018. Mayumi Okishima. Talent: Yamato Nadeshiko. Attempt at making the ultimate mother and wife. Innately gifted at taking care of others, house duties, and even the arts of calligraphy, multiple martial arts, and dedication to historical and other muses. Also has an affinity for creative endeavors. Must be sheltered to maintain more traditional point of view. Analysis of exposure to modern day prepared.

Subject 019. Daisuke Ichijou. Talent: Supreme Support. Can invigorate friends and demoralize foes with ease, using both words and actions. Maintains group morale and can turn the tide due to his affects on people's performances.

Subject 020. Kinu Togami; Talent: Ruthless Rogue. Incredible skill at sneaking, lockpicking, pickpocketing, and other art forms involved in stealing or subtlety. Does not do well in social situations as of yet. Research ruined due to her loss in the Togami Battle Royale. Status Currently Unknown.

"I assume this is Granberia's real name?" Shizue was probably asking me because I was the closest to her.

I nodded, "Granberry, a Togami? I dunno... She hasn't mentioned it, but likely it would be her."

Shizue chuckled mischievously, "Granberry, huh? Pet names? You two dating?"

I blushed fervently, "What!? No! I have pet names for everyone! Granberry, Sassy Beast, Nari-chan. Koko for Koneko, and even May Yumi. She gets riled up when I refer to her like that, ehehehe."

"So just the girls huh? And those five specifically?" Shizue teased, "Is that exclusive, or can I have one?"

"I guess? I never thought about a nickname for everyone here, really. Just occurred to me at random. Like now, Shichu." I smirked.

"Shichu?"

"Shichu, I choose you!" I jokingly tossed a ball of dust which scattered in the air, "Well, I mean..."

Shizue pressed a finger to my chest, "So you wanna catch me?"

I tried to hide my blushing face in the shadows before turning the page in the book, "Moving on!"

Subject 021. Shinji Kizami. Talent: Almighty Arbiter. Can...

The rest of the page was torn off, leaving me with many more questions than answers. I remembered what they told me, but now I couldn't be sure if they had given me the full data.

"So do you have any idea what talent they imbued you with?" Shizue was certainly a curious girl.

"So they basically what? Stole us and gave us magic powers or something?"

Shizue shook her head, "They approached each group of parents and asked that they participate in an experiment. Ours were the ones who agreed."

I understood now, "So our parents let them play God on our DNA. Great... Hell, with how old Kenta is, he was probably their lead researcher..."

"Actually..." Shizue trailed off.

"God dammit, Kenta!" I smacked his smug prick face on the folder I proceeded to drop to the floor, "We're some kind of Frankenstein monsters who defy the laws of the universe!? What bullshit anime nerd fantasy is this!?"

 _Explains why a girl would like somebody like me... Wow, brain. Rude._

Shizue knocked me out of my stupor, "So any ideas?"

"Well..." I thought about it for a moment before I caved, "Got hurt one day. Ended up hospitalized. They sent me this info about joining the Academy... Said I could affect the emotions of people around me. Even cancel out other Ultimate talents, if I wanted. Or amplify them. Not that I bothered... I just thought I was always an overly emotional kid, is all."

"How did you end up in a hospital?" Shizue was suddenly more interested in that then what I had said, though I couldn't blame her, "I mean, don't get me wrong. Your talent sounds cool, but if you can't use it consciously, not much to worry about, right?"

"I guess..."

She practically sat on my lap, her face so close to mine, "Story time? Tell me, tell me! Tell me, please!"

I sighed. Granberia was the only person who knew, but after a bit of prodding I agreed, "...I'll talk. I haven't told the group this yet, but I plan on doing it soon. Only Granberia knows the full story."

"Why'd you tell her first!?" Shizue was pouting now, her cheeks puffed out as she glared at me.

"She was there!"

"Really!? Why?"

"I'll get to it, just hold your horses!" I grabbed one of her hands and clasped it tightly, "But you gotta promise. This story's not a happy one, and you might be afraid of me afterwards. Do you really want to hear it?"

Shizue looked me in the eyes, a determined, almost indignant look to her, "Damn straight! I won't lose faith in Shinjykinz so easily!"

Shinjykinz...?

 _ **One Disturbing Story Later...**_

Finishing the full unabridged version of the story, I noticed a tear running down my face and quickly wiped it away, "Okay then. Sorry about that... So now you know."

Shizue, who had listened intently, even during the more disturbing or dark parts, shook her head, "Shinji... It's a nice story, but it's not really all that believable. I mean... Taking on that many guys alone? I know you, but you're no Adonis."

Sighing, I lifted up my shirt and grabbed her hand. I let her feel along the scar left when I sliced myself there, and as she ran her fingers up my chest, she stared, as if entranced, "Considering you just showed me a book where we have magical powers, is it really so foreign an idea?"

Shizue slowly moved her hand away from me. After hesitating for a second, she hugged me tightly, my head on her shoulders, "You... You went through... so much..."

I shook my head, "Didn't we all?"

Shizue parted and looked me in the eyes, "Shinji... Seriously. If you ever need to talk, you know I'm here for you. Anytime that you need me, okay?"

I sniffled a bit before responding, "...Yeah. Okay. I understand; read you loud and clear."

With that, we stayed up there for a while. She laid down next to me on the floor, both of us staring through the skyroof towards the starry sky as the sun set soon afterwards, talking about ourselves. I felt comforted that she was now aware of what made me who I now was. Her radiant kindness created a light in the darkness. I wasn't even yet aware of how integral to my life she would one day be.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

The talk I had with Shizue definitely brought the two of us much closer together. Any time with her was invaluable, and she was always quite aware of my emotional state. We kept the information we had found secret for now, just in case it raised tensions amongst our group. From the shadows, we tried to help people with their problems and overcome their weaknesses. Since we understood their talent, we could more effectively interact with them.

During this time, I grew increasingly close with Shinju, Mayu, Granberia, Koneko, Shizue, and even Nari. At times, my heart would ache being away from their company for any extended period of time. Flashbacks of cold nights in a cottage with them or other such memories revealed to me that in the past simulations, I had likely fallen in love with each of them in turn before all of it was wiped and replayed. Now those same feelings were welling up in my current incarnation, uncontrollably so.

Guilt rocked my body whenever I spent time with any of them. I had love for all of them, and hints suggested that everyone here still retained their own feelings towards us as well. Akihiko's feelings for Emiko and Kenji's for Hanako's made much more sense, as did the group's quick desensitization to Takeshi's foul mouth or Takumi's unwanted advances.

What did I do? I had fallen in love with each of them separately, and now that I was aware of that, I was equally aware that I loved all of them. Due to the circumstances, all six of them meant the most to me.

If I picked one of them, I would devastate the other five, and considering the circumstances, it might lead them to the road of despair and depression. The feelings they had begun expressing towards me were real and pure, and it made my life so much worse.

What was I supposed to do!? I could also choose to refuse all of them, but then I'd be in a carousel of agony, seeing girls who loved me, whom I loved back, separated by the cruel bonds of fate.

For someone sentimental like me, I didn't want to crush anyone's hearts. The memories I had of each of them, scattered though they were, meant the world to me. I would even spend nights agonizing about what to do, who to choose, how to act. How could I make a choice and live with myself afterwards!?

I eventually settled on getting a drink from the cafe and reading a book before bed. Filling a small glass with just water, I quickly slurped my way through six or seven refills. I lost count.

Outside, rain pattered against the glass windows as a loud thunderous boom raged in the distance. Soon the wind began to pick up. Thunderstorm.

Certainly atmospheric. Sitting down in a chair, I began to think about the recent goings on in the resort.

Everything seemed normal, but through the dark thunderstorms, two familiar faces ran in. Nico and Satoshi.

"Shinji! There you are!" Satoshi exclaimed, clearly out of breath as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. I quickly offered him a glass of water, which he chugged down.

Nico grabbed my shoulder, and this was the first time I'd seen him so shaken up, "Shinji! Have you seen Shizue today!?"

"No, why? Did something happen?"

"Fuck!" Nico ran off, back into the darkened night.

Satoshi grabbed my shoulder, "Shizue went missing. Last time Nico saw her, she burst into tears and ran off into the night. Something really upset her..."

I quickly stood up, "So that's what Nico's riled up over?"

"He's worried she might try to... Well, we need to split up and look for her. Let the others know, now!" Satoshi ran off before he said anything more.

Panicked, I ran out and headed towards the only place I suspected; the library.

Outside in the rainy darkness, I saw Shinju and Nari split off towards the arcade. Running inside, I saw Granberia, Koneko, and Mayu.

"Guys! You looking for Shichu too?" I quickly regained my composure.

"Shichu?" Mayu asked somewhat confused.

Koneko nodded, "I'm off to search... Shinji, you know where."

I nodded, "Take this," I handed her a flashlight I always carried with me, in cases of emergencies, "Be safe. If anything happens to you out there... You know I'll be there as soon as possible."

She blushed ever so slightly as she nodded, "...I know you will." With that, she hugged me before running off into the darkness, only a small light illuminating the dark pathway towards the park she was taking.

Mayu snickered a bit, "What a cute love story..."

I rolled my eyes, "Watch it, May Yumi."

She pouted after I called her this, "I told you that is not the proper way to address me."

Ignoring her, I moved into the library, "Granberry, with me. Mayu, I need you to watch the ground floor in case anyone tries to leave."

"Do you think she's in the library?" Mayu asked, looking around at the ground floor.

Grabbing Granberia's hand, I headed for the stairs, "I'd stake my life on it!" With my rogue beside me, the two of us ran upstairs, and without hesitation, I grabbed a hold of the cord before pulling it down. Swiftly, I jumped back, running up the stairs. Granberia stumbled up them after me.

Darting around, I noticed Shizue in my peripheral vision. I took a couple of steps towards the balcony, the ledge being where she had seated herself, "Shizue! Are you here?"

She didn't move an inch, "Why are you here?"

I quickly replied, "To find you, of course! Nico was panicking when you ran off. He's afraid you might do something stupid!"

"Like he cares..." As the thunderous noise boomed out, the lightning illuminated a slick blade in Shizue's hand.

Noticing it, I prepared myself to lunge towards her if she tried anything, "What are you doing with that!? Shizue, what the hell did you come up here to do!?"

Shizue rotated herself to face me, the rain mixing in with the tears flowing down her face, "Check the... folder."

Noticing a folder stained from what I assumed were her tears, I opened it up. Inside were several messages from people related to our situation. Daisuke's sister had survived and wished us well, and even Mayu's parents had left a message, detailing how the shrine survived and that they were fine.

Then I found a message much unlike the others. From Saeko Koga, it basically outlined how to handle finding Shizue. What horrified me was something that was cosigned by her brother, Hisao.

'If Shizue is found to be related to the Tragedy in any way, two actions must be taken. The records are to be destroyed, and she must be neutralized. It is a tragedy that we as a corporation must take actions, but we can't let that useless girl ruin everything we did to improve this corporation and expand it worldwide.' In different handwriting, a secondary note mentioned how the writer, likely Hisao, was unable to convince Saeko otherwise and sent his personal condolences to his little sister.

"My sister wrote that... Useless... She always hinted at her distaste for what I did, what I enjoyed... I just never knew it meant that..." Shizue waved her hand about, the knife shining whenever it reflected lightning or even a glint of moonlight peeking out.

Granberia took the folder from me and read it for herself, "This is... Horrible."

I took a step towards Shizue, who raised her knife in response, "Shizue! Look, I know you're upset! But if you do anything stupid right now, you'll regret it in the end!"

Shizue glared at me, and I could see in her eyes pain I'd never before beared witness to, "People only like me 'cause of my talent. No one sees the real me. No one likes the real me... Not my friends, not my fans, not even my family..."

"That's wrong! What about us!?" I exclaimed. Sadly, it didn't seem she would see reason so easily.

Granberia grabbed my shoulder, "What do we do!?"

I turned to her and nodded, "If anything goes wrong... Make sure everyone understands, okay?"

"W-what?"

With that, I ran forward towards Shizue. I expected to catch her off guard, and I did. What I didn't expect was that she would strike towards me.

Sharp, piercing pain. A cough and hack. Shizue's eyes went wide, and she stepped back, dropping the knife, "Shinji..."

She had struck me in the stomach, reopening my old wound, "Didn't you remember my promise..? I won't treat you differently... I'm friends with you..." I gripped her by the shoulders, "You hear me? I fell in love... with the girl named Shizue Koga! Not her talent!"

"What?" Granberia exclaimed, shocked by my revelation.

Shizue must have been confused as well, "But Shinji... You..."

"... I've remembered things. Nightly walks on the beach and celebrating holidays with loved ones. Turns out I've fallen in love with a fair amount of people here.. One of them was you, Shizue..." I decided to be up front with her.

Shizue broke her gaze, "So those memories I have... Are they real?"

I clasped her hand in mine, "No matter what, they're real to me... You are... Don't do this!" I grabbed the knife and tossed it over the balcony before turning back to her, "If not for me, for yourself. There are people that love you for you. Not just me... Nico does as well. You're like a sister to him! Shinju, and Mayu, and even Satoshi..."

Shizue broke down into tears, and as she did, Nico, Shinju, and Mayu climbed up the stairs, "Shizue!? Shizue, are you alright!?"

I let Nico inspect Shizue for wounds before I fell back, clutching mine, "Deep... Cut."

Shinju ran over to my side, trying to maintain her composure, "You damn idiot! What were you thinking!? There are better ways to stop someone from self harm than having them stab you!"

The pain was getting intense by this point, so I reached up and brushed Shinju's bangs out of her eyes, staring deeply, "If I don't wake up... I love you, Shinju... Then again, you must have already known that by now, haha..." With that, I passed out.

A lot happened after that. Everyone found the information. Daisuke was relieved about his sister, and others amongst us mourned over the deaths. Shizue eventually started feeling better, and Daisuke, Nico, Yoshikazu, and a few of the girls planned to monitor her just in case she relapsed into a depression.

I received what I refer to as a Baka Storm from Nari and Shinju, who were both greatly annoyed by my actions. Granberia and Koneko accepted my actions, though they also wished I'd taken a safer route.

Shizue came to my cottage a couple of days after and pleaded with me to cosplay with her, not because she felt obliged to, but because she missed doing it. She also really wanted to thank me for being supportive of her, even if I did it idiotically. I agreed. How bad could it be?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Shizue had invited me to go cosplaying before, but I was always trying to make an excuse. Now, I sat at a table, a brown handbag around my arm, my orange jacket unzipped and over my plain black shirt. My brownish-yellow khakis looked worn. I had convinced her to spare me the unholy brown hat, but even then I felt self-conscious, due to how poorly these clothes fit on me. My brown boots felt odd on my feet.

Damn Monotaro for having clothes storage! I should have figured he could pass between areas to troll me.

Shizue had gotten inspired to cosplay. She had already asked Nico, but he had expressed fear at how she acts once she cosplayed. I didn't really know what I was in for...If I had...

"Yuki?" As I heard Shizue talk in such a sweet, yet frightening way, I turned to greet her.

Wearing brown shoes and black high socks, she walked towards me. Her costume was perfection. The blue sailor uniform and the dark blue coat matched well, and the red bow knotted onto the chest of her costume showed the considerable time and effort put into perfecting this had also been surprisingly taller than I remembered when I met her; perhaps it had to do with her talent?

The uniform was lighter on the outsides, and with her hair now dyed a bubble gum pink, she had even put ribbons on the end, letting her long hair wave freely in the wind. The only part of her cosplay that surprised me was her completely pink irises and the knife in her hand, which was shining in the sunlight.

I gulped loudly taking a step back, "Damn, that's a fine costume! A bit too perfect, though... We're not in a game to become God, you know?"

"Costume...? Whatever do you mean, Yuki...?" She walked towards me, and I noticed a bloodstain on her shirt. Small drops of water fell off of the knife onto the concrete, implying she had just washed it off.

Oh, right. In character. I think? "Y-Yuno...What are you doing?"

Yuno chuckled, "Well, I think it's been a long time since we spent time together. I've been feeling lonely without my Yuki... I thought I'd give you an incentive..."

I-incentive? "I don't need one. So just, put the knife away and we can do whatever you want..." I tried remaining calm and collected.

She shook her head, "But I need the knife. If that harlot tried to interrupt us, I'd have to deal with her."

"Do you mean Shinju?" I asked for clarification on the 'harlot', "You wouldn't hurt her, right?"

Yuno smiled even wider, "No, it would be quick..." I was terrified now. No longer was she Shizue. She was completely Yuno. I was screwed. I was prepared for trouble, but not for this.

She laughed, manically, as her eyes gave me that crazy look that only she could pull off. I did the most logical thing a man in my situation could do.

I ran like a bitch. Bolting inside my cottage, I closed the door and locked it. I heard a knock, and it grew louder and louder. Eventually, it stopped, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Until I heard something slam, and a crash came from my shower.

I quickly ran and opened the door only to realize too late the bathroom had a slim window that one might be able to fit through, and Yuno was now rising up from the shower floor, knife in hand.

I couldn't speak anymore, as fear had taken me over. She got way too into the cosplay, they said. She might be a bit dangerous like that, they said. I should have listened. I could have stopped this. As she walked into my room, I knew it was happening.

I wanted to run out of there, but I was far too scared to move. My legs were jelly, and I stumbled backwards onto the bed. I couldn't speak for a moment, but soon I found my voice, "Yuno, please! I...I didn't mean to run, I just...You're acting scary! Alright!? Shizue! Please!"

"Saying other girl's names in front of me...What have you been doing while I was away...?" She glared at me, and I felt her rage beginning to stir.

Yuno brandished her knife, and she smirked, quite ruthlessly, "Yuki...I'm not Yuki! It's just a...a costume! See?" I threw my handbag to the side and struggled to throw my jacket away, "It's just the clothes! Okay!? I'm not Yukiteru! I'm Shinji! So please...stop!"

Yuno came ever closer, her eyes intensely glancing at me, my every move, my every breath, like I was prey, "Oh, you silly," a light smile formed once more, "I know you're not Yukiteru... But you are indeed my Yuki..."

I stammered, "Y-your Yuki? What do you m-mean by that!?"

"Ever since memories came flooding back, I realized that we had history. I still had those feelings for you deep in my heart..." she let the knife slide out of her hand before snatching it midair, "For the longest time, I've been wondering how to break the news. You're hard to get close to. Whenever any of us made moves on you, you swiftly pushed us away and fled the scene. I imagine you only did it to spare us hurt feelings, but..."

I decided to tell her, "It's not just you... Shinju... Mayu... Koneko... Granberia... Nari. I have feelings for all of you that I just... I can't control them! I try and I try! Those memories, those feelings... They're etched into my heart! Just like... Jun."

Yuno placed her hand on my face, whispering as if to soothe my pain, "So I asked Shinju for advice on how to get you take me seriously. And this is what she had in mind..."

"Shizue...?" I tried to speak, but I lost my voice.

Yuno put her finger to my lips, quieting me, as she leaned over me, giving me the creepiest smile she could manage, "I'll take care of you, Yuki. No worries..." She raised the knife, and all I could do was scream.

She moved quickly, and with one strike, I was silenced.

The knife hit the floor, and I was unable to breathe any more as she kissed me roughly, unable to contain her excitement any longer. I was halfway between crying or laughing, so instead I shut my mouth. Were I to anger her, I would die.

Admittedly, I did love Shizue. I also have a thing for psycho girls. As Ken Ashcorp once put it, I kinda dig crazy chicks.

So deciding to be passive, I resigned myself to my fate. I was fearful of what Shinju would do once she found out, but she wasn't the girl I was afraid of getting School Days'd by.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5# (Finale)**

I was exhausted, frightened, and confused. I was also lying on the floor, wearing only my pants and shirt. I stared up at the ceiling, as if in a daze. I could barely believe that Shizue had transformed so wholly like that.

She, or rather, Yuno, had then proceeded to chase me, and fearing the worst, I had submitted to her wrath. I was still terrified, not just of her transformation, but of my soon to come punishment from the Tsun. I had chosen more than one waifu. My laifu was over.

These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as Yuno awoke and fell off of the bed on top of me, clutching a pillow. Dressed in her green bra and underwear, she was rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, "Oh...Where was I..."

I poked her, "I'd rather not remind you... Since you threatened to stab me and chased me into my cottage. And then broke in. And then you... Well..." I was trying not to think about what had happened after. I was hoping that I was dreaming.

Yuno? laughed, "Oh, really? I must have gone full Yandere on you, huh?" she stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, "Not very kind of me. Smells nice in here."

I nodded, "A shower did you wonders."

Shizue ran her hand through her still damp pink hair, "Ah, explains this... So..." She noticed how she was dressed, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

I covered my ears as she screamed out in terror, "My ears! Can you not?"

Shizue had a grim look on her face, "What the hell did you do!?" Shizue smacked me a couple of times before I caught her hands, "You're worse than Takumi!"

I looked her in the eyes and said, without any hint of jokes in my tone, "Yuki was merely a casual observer."

Click. What I said resonated with her. She seemed to have remembered what she had forgotten. She began blushing wildly, and fell back onto the bed, "Oh, god! No! What did I...I'm so sorry!" She put her head into her hands, and she had a disturbed look on her face. She was on the verge of tears.

"Calm down, alright?" I sat on the bed next to her, "You weren't necessarily in your right mind. I didn't believe you as well as I should have and I paid the price. I'm not mad at you."

Shizue fell onto me, still tearing up, "But I'm certain that if I acted like that, you must have been so afraid! I practically forced myself upon you!"

I kissed her on her forehead, running my hand through her hair, "Relax, Shizue. Everything is alright. I'm not mad at you. Trust me. I wouldn't have surrendered if I was against it. I'd have fought to my dying breath, you silly nugget."

"You've been hanging out with Nico a lot, huh?" She said, a smirk on her face.

"Shush your face. What I'm trying to say is that I was more concerned about you than me."

Sitting upright, she asked, "What do you mean?"

I thought about it for a moment, "I didn't know your motivation or what you intended to happen. I was concerned you were accosting me against your wishes... But then you called me 'Your' Yuki, and I knew you were still there, somewhere."

Shizue grabbed my hand, folding hers with mine, "Shinji... I know that things are weird, and you have love issues right now... I just want to be with you again... Like in my memories. I don't care if I'm the only one you love; I know you're not in this situation out of choice."

"What are you saying?"

She laughed, "God, you're stupid, sometimes. I'm saying that I support you, no matter how you deal with your feelings. Do what is right for you. I'll be there for you, no matter your choice. I owe you that much."

I shook my head, "You don't owe me anything, Shizue. I don't want my relationships to be founded on anything but love, understood?"

Shizue kissed my cheek, holding me close, "I understand. Later, we'll tell your favorite Tsundere what I did, 'kay? Can't hide it from her."

"Yeah, of course. I don't know how she'll take it... Or how she'll deal with... Us." I scratched the side of my nose as I thought about the upcoming Baka Storm 2.

No matter how Shinju reacted, or how I would resolve this maze of romance, I had one fervent belief to keep moving forward. Even if I couldn't work it out with them, I'd make sure my feelings were known. They had to understand why and how my feelings came about before we could make any proper decision.

As I laid down on the bed, Shizue cozied up next to me, closing her eyes and resting beside me. Before long, I found myself amused as she quietly breathed, calm and content.

I had been shaken up at first, and I had been contemplating my existence on the floor, wondering questions like; What is love? Will my baby hurt me? And will I ever give her up?

This was the conclusion I had come to. I would be there for all of them as much as I could. What those memories taught me, what these girls had done for me, I could never repay. I could only offer my heart and soul.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Chama-chama Cosplaying". Pledging your love to Shizue and trying to strive forward to a brighter future has given you new insight in the world. Absorbing others' weak points into your own truth bullets is even easier (and quicker) than before.**

 **You have been awarded Shizue's undergarments! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	17. Nari's Free Time Events

Author's Note: This college semester was kicking my butt, sorry for the long absence. The next two chapters will surely come much more quickly. Speaking of that, this chapter is in particular very lewd in some areas. Hats off to the character for that. Be warned; if you do not like adult jokes or material, you're gonna have a bad time. And this after I censored it. I assumed the explicit parts were unwanted; if I'm wrong, tell me? Otherwise, enjoy this chapter from our more overly dramatic characters!

 _ **Free Time Events with Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**_

 **The Cast (For Ease of Remembering)**

 **Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic (F2)**

 **Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer**

 **Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet (F2)**

 **Koneko Sakai, the Ultimate Tamer**

 **Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler**

 **Akihiko Tanaka, the Ultimate Boxer**

 **Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter**

 **Nari Kawasaki, the Ultimate Tutor**

 **Takeshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate Survivor**

 **Nico B, the Ultimate Rising Star**

 **Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer**

 **Kenji Amagi, the Ultimate Firestarter**

 **Hanako Ikeda, the Ultimate Maid**

 **Kibou Iwata, the Ultimate Speed Reader**

 **Satoshi Hondo, the Ultimate Student Council President**

 **Mayumi Okishima, the Ultimate Archer**

 **Daisuke Ichijou, the Ultimate Cheerleader**

 **Granberia, the Ultimate Thief**

 **Free Time Event 1#**

There are many kinds of people in the world. One of those kinds of people is the kind of person Nari is. That is to say, an intimidating and sometimes violent one. Another kind of person is that godforsaken lion that had called us all to the central stage. What we didn't expect was his company.

Behind him stood five people. One wore a black business suit, his black tie hanging loosely down his chest. His long hair was practically its own person, the way it moved around at odd intervals in the wind, spread out like anacondas or tentacles. His deep red eyes moved quickly, monitoring all of us, though I was under the impression he stared at certain people for longer, as if assessing them. From the documents I had seen in the attic with Shizue, I knew his name. Izuru.

The one next to him was a girl with a blank expression and blue hair in a ponytail, her cold demeanor hidden by her glasses. She was shorter than Izuru by a good two or three inches, noticeable since she was even wearing short heels. Her red miniskirt and black jean jacket didn't match the way she folded her arms and grimaced towards us. That's some mixed signals.

In the middle stood... him. Kiyo Isshiki, my best friend, stood there in the Future Foundation uniform, the black sunglasses hiding his eyes so I couldn't see into them. He wasn't smiling, a blank expression on his face as well, almost businesslike in nature. I could only tell it was him because of that damned ring he wore on his right hand, one I had made for him and Takuro specifically. Just like Jun's... They were to celebrate our lifelong friendship...

Next to him was a very grim-looking older gentleman, maybe in his early or middle thirties. He sneered at us like we were vermin, clearly annoyed with having to waste his time with babysitting us. He also wore the Future Foundation outfit, though in his case it was impeccably cleaner.

Finally was a girl who looked pretty bad off. Bandages covered most of the right side of her face, and her hair was short and black. She had a miserable look on her face, as if she was dead inside. She noticed me staring, and that seemed to only further enhance her soul-crushing aura.

Since I had arrived last, and the first thing I noticed was the shocked expression on Koneko's face, I walked up to her and asked, "Koneko, what did I miss?"

She didn't answer, instead pointing to one of the five people on stage behind Monotaro, "Th-th-tha..."

Monotaro began laughing heartily to drown out the whispers amongst us, "Today we have decided to give you a little more information! These are all your opponents, masterminds working alongside me! I'm a totally self-functioning robot with no need for human input! And these five chumps are my allies! We're teaming up to bring you despair!"

Nico pointed towards Izuru, "You're that Kamukura guy! Why aren't you at Jabberwock Island!? With the other Remnants!?"

Izuru stepped forward, his long hair flowing in the gusts coming from the ocean, "I relocated myself to this resort in an effort to hunt down the last member of Despair. My goal here is to crush the last of the Remnants, either through reformation or death. That is my intention with this game; although my associates may have other motives."

The older man, the person Koneko had pointed at, nodded, "My name is Kenta Sakai, Ultimate DNA Manipulator, and man responsible for your talents. I am very curious in the Killing Game Amongst Genetically Superior High School Students! Since I know you all, some better than others... I assure you no hard feelings should you die in this competition. It's for a greater cause."

"Tch. Asshole," Takeshi muttered, resentful of his austere attitude, "Fuck you and your research."

"Ah, yes. Takeshi, the man who can never be loved. How are your parents?" Kenta laughed as Takeshi tried to assault the stage and was held back by Akihiko and Daisuke, who knew better.

Kiyo stepped forward, "Kiyo Isshiki reporting for duty! I came here to discover what happened to my good friend Kizami. But now my only concern is the outcome of this game and the eradication of Ultimate Despair!"

"Kiyo... But what about-"

He cut me off, "I care not for you or Takuro. Not enough to try to interfere with Master Kamukura and Master Sakai's experiments. This hurts me to condemn you to such a fate, but I must."

"And you?" Shinju glared with such deep hatred towards Kenta, "Doing this to your own sister?" Shinju spoke up, "How despicable!"

The girl next to Kiyo rolled her eyes, "Like she can talk."

Kenta merely shook his head, "Despicable? Me? No, I implore you to understand. I never loved that filthy beast. Always nagging me, interrupting me, sneaking into my lab to try and spend time with me... Someone so bothersome and such a nuisance could never have earned my respect nor my love. That garbage is no family of mine..."

As Koneko struggled not to react emotionally and looked ready to burst into tears, I stepped forward, very wary of the other students' reactions, "Shut your mouth! Heavens forbid you treat your family nicely! You're just a douchebag scientist who thinks he can play God!"

"Wah wah wah. Looks like my experiments are bitching and moaning, again," Kenta said, not showing any reaction besides disgust.

"I pray that I get the chance to watch the life drain from your face! You insufferable cunt!" Nico rarely cursed people out so succinctly, which means Kenta really had pressed him.

Takeshi nodded, "Aye, aye. Fuck this cock slap."

Shinju agreed with us wholeheartedly, "Such a worthless human being like you... You make me sick!"

Once again, the girl next to Kiyo spoke up, "Hey, don't you recognize me? Huh? It's S... Fuuko. Fuuko Yokai."

"...That name..." Shinju must have recognized it.

"I always wanted a cooler name than what I had. Right? Sis?" Some people gasped, others nodded their heads. The girl ignored them all, "So try not to use my real name, huh? Wouldn't do for my reputation, now would it?"

Shinju stepped forward, listless, "But...why?"

Fuuko merely sighed, looking away, "Justice is a harsh master... I can't turn a blind eye to what happened here... Izuru is certain this is the only way to handle the last member of Despair properly... So I'll put my faith in him. It's all I can do."

The last girl on the end finally stood forward, trying not to look any of us in the eye, "When the three members of Future Foundation entered the innermost chambers of this resort and released you from your prisons, I was here. The only surviving worker here before the resort fell into despair... They call me Misery..."

"Fitting name, isn't it!?" Monotaro laughed, "So you must be wondering... Why are these guys here!?"

Nico ventured a guess, "Do you expect us to battle you six? Perhaps some kind of sick mind games?"

Monotaro pointed at Nico, "Close, my boy! Very close, indeed! We decided to get a little more interactive with you all! Maybe invite some of you to work with us or plan some small little... diversions. Maybe give the Blackened a special mission or make a deal with one of you, who knows? Spicing things up!"

"Why would we ever work with you?" Daisuke bluntly shot him down.

"Upupupupupu!" Monotaro's sinister chuckle rang out, "Perhaps the Blackened will be allowed to let someone win in his place! Or maybe we'll give them a specific target! Who knows!? And should our totally despair-inducing diversions fail... Well, then you'll have free reign to do whatever you want to your defeated opponent! Decided at random, of course. Izuru's orders..."

Izuru nodded to confirm what the lion said, "The earlier killing games were never a fair fight. The players couldn't strike back at the mastermind until the end game. So I switched it up. Every case, we will try to fulfill some kind of goal, unknown to you all. Should we fail, our life is forfeit and yours to take. This way, we'll both be losing less... worthy members."

Kenta agreed with him, "Certainly. Best to eliminate any coworkers of mine that aren't good enough, right? Put them in the traaaaash."

Fuuko chuckled, "Don't worry! Even if you die a horrible, painful, bloody death, you might be avenged! Isn't that innovative!?"

"Justice is absolutely welcome in this environment!" Kiyo saluted, "I would stake my life on justice!"

"Before I forget; a forewarning. Depending on our challenges or diversions, some of you might get hurt or even killed... We'll give you an example later. So be aware of that," Izuru spoke up softly.

"Why!? Why do we have to be a part of such a cruel game!?" Hanako was rarely the one to speak up, so as she yelled at them, tears streaming down her face. None of them were quick to react.

Izuru didn't respond for a moment, but he finally sighed and gave in, "This is necessary. Hundreds were killed by the member of Despair here. Perhaps even thousands! I never stopped them as I should have. But now I have... I have someone who wants me to forge a new future! One that is neither hope nor despair! I have already committed grievous crimes. What could a few more lives matter if it means creating a world that suits me?"

Kenta began walking off, "Come, Izuru. We have plans to discuss. My tea might get cold before we return."

Fuuko skipped after the two, "Wait for me, guys! I want some tea, too!"

Kiyo marched behind them alongside the damned lion Monotaro, and only Misery stayed behind, silent as ever.

"And what's your deal? Huh?" Nico asked.

Misery stared at me, as if peeking into my soul, "I must apologize for all of this. Maybe one day I will be able to explain..."

"Why are you talking to... me?" I asked, wondering who this person actually was.

"Out of all of the people here, I expect you will suffer the most. Hopefully, you'll all be able to survive this game, but... That's just wishful thinking..." She had a very grim and depressed sounding voice, before she turned and walked after her companions, stepping through the gates to the next staircase before they closed behind her with a mighty clang.

"At least we got introduced to the full cast..." Satoshi must have trying to break the awkward silence our new enemies had left in their wake, but none of us responded.

Daisuke shook his head, "This isn't good. They won't just be giving us motives in general... They'll be operating in the shadows. Makes it even harder to trust the rest of us."

Takumi chuckles, "What, scared I'd kill you to get laid or something?"

"Would you?" Nico asked, judging Takumi with his eyes, a piercing glare just daring him to bear false witness.

"O-of course not! Not if I don't have to..." To punish Takumi's wishy washy response, Nico tossed a dart from his back pocket into his stomach, causing him to squeal out in pain, "Ahaaaaa! My stomach!"

Nico sighed, a palm hitting his face, "That's a penalty."

"Why do you have darts on you?" Kenji asked, looking to see if he had any more on his person.

Nico folded his arms, "Self-defense, mostly. Though they come in handy for quick punishments if I need them. So what do we intend to do about this new development? Make a pact to not buy into their plans or what?"

Satoshi nodded, slamming his fist into his hand, "I got it! Great idea, Nico!"

"I was being sarcastic. We're not even certain if we can trust us not to murder, let alone sell us out. It's unfortunate, but I'm well aware of what people are capable of..." Nico had a forlorn expression on his face, and he was clearly struggling with his own indecisiveness on trusting us or not.

Nari rolled her eyes, the level of sass in one look nearly overwhelming us all, "Does it really matter? We obviously can't trust anyone here. Not the cursing asshole, not the womanizing tool... Not our dear leader or his little cling along..." she glared at me, "And certainly not a dumbass like him. So stop wasting your time with petty things like friendship and get over it. Emiko, I'll talk to you later. Away from these urchins..."

Nari stomped off, and Takeshi, who deigned to flip her off behind her back, also went his own way.

Akihiko scratched the back of his head, shaking it in exhaustion, "Well, there they go. Acting like total rebels again, too. How are we ever going to band together if they keep this shit up?"

Emiko approached me, silently slipping through the group as the others discussed what to do next, "Shinji... can I request something of you?"

I nodded, turning to address her, motioning us to leave the main area to talk more privately, "So what do you need?"

Emiko sighed as she slumped to the ground, sitting on her knees, "Nari is still being so confrontational... She'll never make friends this way. I was hoping you could go visit her and talk her into being nicer... I've always tried, but it's clearly not been enough to convince her..."

"You're her best friend. How could I possibly do any better? I'm just some...dumbass." I said self-derisively, in the same mocking tone Nari had.

"You should know by now you're more to her than...that. She cares about you... And Shinju, though she refuses to admit to either of those statements. All she needs is a push, you know? Melt her heart; she's a real die hard romantic deep down, trust me. No one has been able to tap into that part of her, yet..." Emiko snickered a bit at the end. How crude of her.

"I doubt it even exists, but..." The way Emiko was staring at me, I knew I had no choice. "But thou must, right? Alright, I'll do as you ask. What's the plan?" Emiko smirked, and I felt she was getting too into whatever she was plotting.

Sometimes I hated my life. This is what I thought to myself as I entered the library later that night. According to Emiko, Nari would come to the upstairs area ever since we showed the others the secret attic room. Emiko promised me she had no idea what she would do up there, and I trusted her. I knew Emiko was a hell of an eccentric person, but she wouldn't trick me into a trap, right? ...Aw, fuck.

The clock said that it was around eleven PM, a bit late, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Daisuke and Akihiko liked to do night training in the forest to keep their senses top notch. Perhaps they were subconsciously worried about staying in shape in case someone tried to murder them.

Climbing up to the second floor, I noticed just how silent it was. I heard in the background crickets chirping in the forest further away, though some of them likely wandered all over the resort.

I didn't want to disturb Nari and annoy her before I could even request of her anything, so I pulled the cord, bringing the stairs down and slowly, silently climbed up them. The boxes in the attic containing a bunch of random and mostly useless documents were scattered at the front of the top of the stairs, as if to purposefully obscure my view. Why would she block the only way out? Did she want to be that isolated when she read or whatever it is she does up here?

Making sure that I didn't disturb the environment totally, I peeked around at the rest of the room. The single dimly lit bulb illuminated the room. The desk had been moved behind the chair up here, the swivel kind with ball wheels. Nari was sitting in the chair, facing the entrance, originally blocked from view by the boxes. That didn't concern me in the slightest.

What I found concerning was the lack of clothing she had on. Her stainless white shirt and grey blazer, normally worn with care, were now strewn to the floor, her black shoes stuffed to overflowing with her large white socks. Even the matching grey skirt lay on the floor like a disposable rag, and it shocked me how careless she had been with removing them, due to her fastidious personality.

Even though I may have thought of Nari in less than pure light at times, I never truly understood how fair her beautiful skin was. Natural or not, it seemed nearly mesmerizing how unmarred her body was, free of any kind of marks or scars. Her short brown hair really accentuated her glaring brown eyes, now without their particular roughness. The scowl normally accompanying her face was lost, and she actually looked like she was in a happy mood, for once. Because she was seated, she wasn't looking down at me for once, the tallest girl here besides Mayumi. What I was reminded of was how her figure made me feel self-conscious at times. Her stomach was flat, and her arms looked as if she had gained a bit of muscle on them. It was evident that she really took care of her physical appearance, to an almost obsessive degree.

Now that I could see her outside of her uniform, I really noticed how many... curves she had. The way she carried herself, I never would have thought of her as a model in terms of body type, but seeing her in this light I had to struggle not to bleed from my nose. Her bust, her hips, it was a flawless victory... What did they use to call them? Child-bearing hips? The way she wore her uniform, it was hard to determine what she looked like under those clothes, and all I could say was daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn! Wait, wait, wait! Stop it! Stop! I smacked myself to get the blood flowing to my brain again. This was BAD! She was clearly up here for privacy, and I was ruining it!

Not to mention the fact she was probably about three fingers deep, but I didn't really want to get closer to confirm anything. Instead, my jaw hung open and I stood there for a couple of seconds like a complete dumbass.

Woah, what!? The ratings are going up! ESRB is going to find us now! ...In hindsight, how did Another Episode get released... I shook my head. Now wasn't the time for breaking the fourth wall! Now was the time to consider how to approach this situation. I didn't want the ratings to get any higher. I need to leave. If she catches me up here, I am literally going to be murdered. In the face.

Okay, so here's my plan. I am going to slowly back up, walk down those stairs, and pretend like nothing ever happened. I'll even forgive the fact that I swore she was mumbling my name amongst her fantasies she was cooking up. This was Toko Fukawa level dirty.

I stepped back, but my pants leg got caught on a nail sticking out of the floor, not properly pounded down. _More than that nail needs a good pounding about no-ow!_ I fell forward, crashing as loudly as possible into all of the boxes, knocking them over and scattering papers about. Nari, once caught up in her own little world, now opened her eyes and aimed them at me. Her face was a mix of shock, confusion, and genocide. Definitely definitely genocide.

"What... the fuck...are you...doing up HERE!?" She screamed so loudly that I felt as if the windows around us would break into millions of tiny pieces.

I struggled to stand, but I had twisted my ankle in the fall, "Clearly, I'm falling for you."

She did not find that joke funny in the least bit. Why did I say that? What kind of dumbass would say a line so absolutely dreadful!?

She stepped forward, and I tried to avoid looking at her in certain areas, "Shinji... I'm going to kill you. I am going to tear your intestines out and strangle you with them. I will bathe in your blood, you HEAR ME!?"

I knew I couldn't run away, so I decided to try and reassure her, "I-I didn't mean t-to! I swear! This isn't a tennis court or anything! It could be worse!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Nari was calming down a bit, or so I hoped.

"Emiko told me to come talk to you, alright!? Said I should get you to open up! I had no idea you were up here like...this!" I cringed, waiting for her heavenly wrath.

I waited, but the blow I expected never came. After a few seconds of dramatic and awkward silence, I looked up to notice that Nari had tears in her eyes, "Wh-why would she..." She turned away, and I quickly looked away from her assets.

I stood up, not putting too much pressure on my leg, "Nari, what's wrong? Isn't this the part where you hit me? I'm waiting for a coma..."

Nari just walked over to her clothes and bent over to pick them up, "Fuck it... I've been outed. Now everyone's gonna know what kind of sick pervert I am in my spare time..."

"Um, how? You know I don't plan on telling anyone, right?" I shook my head, wondering why she was acting so insecure all of a sudden.

Nari turned and stood up to face me, "Yeah, right. With the way I treat you... Anyone else here would be dying to make fun of me for it... Wait!? Do you intend to blackmail me!?"

"What!?"

Nari placed her hands on her cheeks, a horrified but slightly aroused (horroused?) expression on her face, "You'll extort me for my body to use as your plaything! All to keep my secrets! The torment of the young maiden begins now!"

I shook my head, "The fuck are you on about? I don't plan on blackmailing you...Jesus."

"Oh..." Did she look disappointed!?

I could barely believe what I was experiencing right now.

Nari turned to me, pointing her finger accusingly at me, "How do I know you're not just lying to me, huh!?"

I rolled my eyes, "What do you want me to do? Make a blood pact or something? Become your familiar!? Maybe call you Onee-chan? I know you're into those kinda shows, Miss Imouto Paradise." _Don't look that up, children._

Nari pouted, her cheeks puffed out angrily. I had to admit I found this side of her to be far too adorable to withstand for long periods of time, "You just need to give me leverage over you!"

"Wait, what?" Now I wasn't following.

Nari poked me in my chest, not even concealing herself anymore, "You saw mine! So let me see yours!"

"What!?" I squealed out. This was beginning to sound like some poorly made fanfiction. There is no way a girl exists like this in real life...Right? _RIGHT!?_

Nari folded her arms, "Come on! It's the only way to make us even! Don't be scared!"

I stepped back, "How about n-no!?" My voice cracked, and she smirked, "What's so funny!?"

"Nervous, are you? I imagine you'd be more experienced by now! Emiko told me about what you and Shizue did. And I heard you might have been rooming with Shinju, so..." Nari had returned to her more dominant personality, now taking the initiative at my hesitation.

I must have had a horrified look on my face, "I-it's not about experience! I can't just go and do something like that!? What kind of deviant do you take me for!?"

I felt her wrap a hand around my neck as she brought her face close to mine, "So you weren't watching me for a bit, hm? Listening to my sexy moans...Watching me play with myself so openly...?"

"I...It was quite a sight, I have to admit..." I was blushing furiously, and I had no idea what I was letting her talk me into.

"Emiko told me that you like me, you know? Said you look at me longingly... So I bet watching me stir myself up while saying your name must have made you... Excited," she was grinning sinisterly, "Would it help if I said I wanted to see you? Relieve yourself of that pressure I built in you...?"

I was certain my mouth was agape at this point, "The hell? You some kind of voyeur!?"

Nari led her hand down my shirt, towards my now ripped pants, "Don't act like you don't like it..."

Fuck it.

I decided to do what I was used to doing here, obliging other people's whims, "Fine, whatever! If it'll make you happy and shut you up... But I'm not doing this for nothing."

Nari tilted her head, "What, you want to take me for a test drive? Rev my engine?"

"If you're going to twist my arm, I want you to own up to your feelings. To Shinju and myself. We're going to need to discuss this one delicately." I sighed, remembering the pain Shinju brought upon me when I told her about Shizue a day late.

Nari laughed at my grim expression, "Awe, it's okay. You seem to like your girls a little...rough," she moved one of her hands to my face, just under my nose, "Can you smell my scent? Memorize it..." she wiped her still slightly damp fingers on my face.

I was so done. Stick a fork in me, I'm done, "What the hell am I doing?"

Nari grabbed my arm and led me over to the couch, as she took a seat, giving a royal pose as if she owned me, "Now dumbass, do my bidding. Perhaps I'll even let you gaze upon my techniques..."

I slowly and reluctantly got undressed before her, feeling so self-conscious that she was watching my every move, "You keep staring like some kind of...wild animal..."

Nari reveled in my nervousness, "Aw, you're so bashful and shy... Have you really been broken into, yet?" she ran a hand down her fit body, running it up her thigh, directing my attention elsewhere, "I do hope you handle yourself better when it's needed."

As I removed the last article of clothing, I felt lightheaded. All of the blood in my body was in my cheeks and one other place, obviously. Stage fright at this point was almost unbearable, "Do I really have to?"

She sat up on the couch, a smirk on her face, getting closer to my lower half. The way she licked her lips highlighted more of her personality than anything else she had done, "...Wow. I've never actually seen one before..." as she placed a hand on me, I felt how warm and soft her palm was, "Not exactly what I expected, considering my toys..."

I wanted to die. This moment literally could not end sooner. Why couldn't I ever resist!? Shinju cries, Shizue gets crazy, and I give in... God damn it! Why can't I have a spine!? I guess it's just not in me...

Nari chuckled to herself as she lied back, spreading her legs, "Want a better view? If you were a real man, you would just take me now..."

"That... I'm not someone who does this casually!" I was getting annoyed by her attitude, "Not everyone is as lewd as you!"

This must have ticked her off, because she sat up, "I'm lewd? Maybe you're a bit too prudish, hm? It's natural to want to be with the ones you're attracted to, right? I have memories of our past simulations, too. Those previous killing games... Those fateful nights we spent together... So why do you have to feel so guilty?"

"I just..." I really didn't know what was triggering this unusual uneasiness in me. What could it be...?

Nari had that devilish look in her eye, the kind she had whenever she emotionally destroyed somebody by tearing them down. I wished that I had braced myself, "Is this about Jun?"

My entire world faded to black for a brief moment. "What?"

"You loved her. I imagine you wanted to make love to her. But you held back. Maybe..." Nari trailed off for a moment, and I knew whatever came next would be fucked up, "Oh I know..."

"Nari... You know I don't like to talk about that. So can you not open old wounds?" I urged her to be civil with me, but this only egged her on.

Her focus sharpened, as did her tongue, "I bet that in the back of your mind, when you were watching her get mauled, you thought this... 'If I had only been braver, more courageous, her first time could have been mine.' But because you were weak, those guys took it. And then they took her life."

"Nari!" I was definitely not okay right now, "Shut up!"

She folded her arms, sticking her tongue out at me like a spoilt child, "Why should I? I'm not the weak little boy who can't say what he wants. You let everyone walk all over you like a doormat. I bet you didn't even struggle when she needed your help. You just sat back and said let it be..."

I felt my hands clench, and I felt my instincts come to life, my heartbeat quicken, "I would NEVER just sit back and-"

"That is all you've done since you got here! You give in to other peoples' whims, no matter the cost to you! You're just a spineless, indecisive coward! I can't see why anyone would fall in love with a wallflower like you..." Nari was definitely spitting acid by this point, "Jun deserved better."

It was at this point I blacked out. Nari, egging me on, grabbed a hold of me and coerced me into proving that I was not the spineless coward she accused me of being.

After my episode had ended, I fell backwards onto the floor, hands covering my face in embarrassment and concern. I didn't move or react to my environment until someone threw my clothes at me.

While I just stayed on the floor, I heard Nari fumble about with her clothes and get dressed. I just mocked myself in my own mind all the while, until she knocked me out of my stupor.

"Come on, get dressed, dumbass. I finished cleaning, and I'd rather Emiko not come to check up on us and find you like that..." Nari sounded a bit concerned, though whether it was for me or her own sake, I could never tell when it came to her. I slowly got dressed, but I really felt horrible by this point.

She forcibly pulled me to my feet, to which I thanked her, "Thanks, Nari... I'm surprised you care..."

Nari shook her head, "What are you, stupid? We're together now. Of course I care..." she sighed, "Though I kind of wish I didn't. You're such a handful... The fact I have to prod you so much just to play ball... Next time, I'll make sure I handle it."

"Oh, I see... Wait... Next time?" She didn't answer me, instead making her way down the stairs to the second floor of the library, leaving me to my thoughts.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

The next two or so days Nari acted very oddly around me, always avoiding eye contact or minimizing the time we spent together. I really didn't understand why, but she later mentioned that until she was ready to tell Shinju she wanted to keep our diversion on the down low.

It wasn't until one night that she came to visit me because she wanted to spend time with me that we finally got to hang out for more than an hour or so. I feel as if I might have accidentally taken my sleeping meds, because I remember falling asleep in her arms before it was even midnight.

I awoke in a relatively dark room. It was light out, and some sun was peeking through the small skylight above the center of the cottage. I quickly recognized this as not my own, as it was far different. There were pretty lascivious posters on the wall, clearly pumped up to 200% lewd. I recognized some of the games and shows the posters were from, all either adult eroges or fanart of popular anime that were probably made by a certain Hifumi Yamada.

The covers under me were very soft, and I found my boxers and undershirt still on my person. When I tried to sit up, I nearly pulled my arm out of its socket. I had failed to notice that my arms and legs were tied to each corner of the bed. Though I struggled and strained against them, they were clearly not letting me escape.

" **Awake, my pet?"** It was only when Nari's voice rang out that I realized what kind of situation I was truly in. I looked over and noticed her. She was now dressed up in a leather outfit, skin tight, only covering the bare essentials. Her hips, shoulders, and most of her torso were exposed, and it was a pretty... interesting thing to see.

I tried to move to a more comfortable position, but Nari was apparently a senior scout in tying knots, because I was so tightly bound to the bed that any movement for more than a few inches began to cause harsh rope burns, "Nari...Wh-what are you doing!?"

Nari smirked as she made her way over to me and quickly began removing my clothes, "So I found your little memoirs. Read about all the fun things you've been doing with people here. Taking count on the Hope Fragments and things like that. It was all very interesting..."

"Hey! That was private! No one is supposed to read those except for me!" I thought about it for a moment, "I probably would have shown you if you asked, but..."

"Then I found my little section, and I was sorely disappointed. You didn't write about the wonderful things you did to me last time..." Nari scowled at this, "Censoring a story like that? I don't approve, and I don't think you should, either."

I didn't answer immediately, trying to find the right words, "I wanted to try and keep it safe for work, okay? I didn't think it was necessary to put explicit detail."

Nari shook her head, "Pitiful. I can't allow you to remain so pathetic. I'm going to rip that prudishness out of you."

"W-what!? What are you going to do!?" My voice cracked a bit, but I didn't bother to check myself. Thus, I wrecked myself.

She grabbed a hold of my shirt and pulled it up, exposing my stomach and chest to her expectant eyes and her sinister smirk. "I'm going to wring you dry... And unless you pen it down in those memoirs this time... I'll keep you tied up here and play around with you..." As she finished her sentence, she reached for my boxers.

 _ **REDACTED AND NSFW-Might be Posted at a Later Date?**_

I could feel my heart pounding, as if it would burst out of my chest like some cheesy sci-fi film. Was it just the stimulation? I think not. That pleased, content look on Nari's face as she fell on top of me, cuddling me as she draped herself by my side reminded me that despite all of her quirks, I was in love with this seductive and selfish girl. But as she fell asleep clinging to me, I decided to let her off the hook.

She woke me up several hours later and untied me, telling me that she was apologetic for being so forceful. I decided to ask, "Why? I mean... Do you really want me to write about our intimacy like this...?"

Nari blushed a bit, her nervous look only making her nine times cuter, "I just think... I don't like censorship. And if one of us dies... I'd want to know of all the times we had together, Shinji," her smile faded away, her serious demeanor kicking in, "Not just our arguments and our fights, or my teasing... I want you to accept all of me into those memoirs..." her voice cracked on the last sentence, "Just in case I can't be with you when we get out of here..."

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close to me, "I'd never let anything happen to you, Nari. You know that."

Nari had a tear in her eye, and she pushed me away, "You don't know that! Either of us could die in any moment! Every night, I worry if the next time I'll see you will be my last!" With every sentence, she became louder and more distressed, "I don't want to lose you! You're my first love! Emiko told me how special I am to get it right the first time! And I'm scared!"

"Nari..."

"I'm not even your first... Jun, Shizue, Shinju, they all beat me! I just want to stand out, even if I'm only remembered for my perversion!" She wiped some of the tears out of her eyes before she spoke again, breaking that gentle silence between us with only a whisper, "I want you to remember me fondly! I want someone to love me! I don't like being alone! I push people away, but... I'm not strong! I'm just...Weak. So weak that I hide my interests and boss people around...I...I..."

I pulled her to me and clasped her tightly, rubbing my hands across her back, "Shush, now... I'll do what you ask. No censorship... But I promise I'd die before I let you get hurt. Any of you... You might not be my first love..." I pulled away from her to look her in the eyes, wiping a tear off of her right cheek as gently as possible, "But you make me happy to be alive, just as much as Shizue or Shinju. And I know you're scared... I am, too. So... I want to make you happy. Anything you want, just ask... "

She looked at me with that same tender, vulnerable look she gave me when she couldn't maintain her composure, "Really? Is that something you're promising to dedicate to?"

"I'll be here for you, Nari. You might come off as brash or abusive, but I know that poor girl inside of you who just wants a friend... Just like that part of me, vulnerable and afraid."

Nari began crying into my chest, and I held her. I knew I couldn't go back on my promise now. I just hoped that no one would read this and get offended by the content. Nari wanted to be remembered for who she truly was; and it was now my duty to record that in the fullest. If it would give her any solace, I would do it.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

Baka Storm 2: Electric Boogaloo was emotionally and psychologically draining. Shinju had apologized over her brutality and knocking me into the ocean water, but that didn't mean she was relenting on annoying me in other ways or constantly guilt tripping me over my encounter with Shizue. Little did I know that Emiko was doing something far more nefarious...

After I was done penning a certain previous encounter, with Nari practically hanging over my shoulder, I finished up my memoirs for the week and set them aside. The next few days went by uneventfully, except for Akihiko's grand tournament and my morning meetings with Hanako. I was happy that Hanako and Kenji had gotten together, and he was even limiting his teasing towards Nari and Shinju, though he never did stop completely.

Emiko, on the other hand, was reveling in spreading rumors and trolling people into compromising situations. She claimed it was merely research to better assess our personalities, but I knew she had some sick enjoyment in what she was doing.

One day, Kenji ran to my side and informed me, "Agent Kizami! I have monitored the two leaders on the feminist forces! Apparently, Nari and Shinju are having a rendezvous inside the former's cottage! I have prepared us a ladder to make our way to the cottage roof. If we can peer through the skylight, we might get a better vantage point for an assault!"

"I thought we agreed mutually, no more secret missions?" I responded, not really in the mood for a beating.

Kenji grabbed me and shook me by my shoulders, "Cut that Stockholm shit out! We have lives to save!"

And with that, Kenji and I made our way to the roof of Nari's cottage, leaning towards the back to avoid wandering eyes.

It was at this point I fell asleep on the side of the roof, nowhere near as invested in this as Kenji was.

 _ **Nari's POV**_

The door opened, and Shinju came inside. _Kinky..._ Damn, she looked fine. That miniskirt just begged for me to peek up under it, and that V-neck made me salivate at the thought of taking it off of her. Whoops, can't start drooling. She'd think I was being weird.

"So, welcome to my humble abode! Make yourself at home! If you want, we can eat out!" Shinju gave me a somewhat wary stare, "I brought pizza! Want a slice?" I handed her a slice of the pepperoni pizza that Yoshikazu kindly made for me.

Shinju nodded, "Sure, I'd like a piece." _Me too. A piece of that ass... I'm really rowdy today..._

I sat down next to her on my bed, watching her eat in silence and glance over at my wall of posters, "S-sorry about that. I have some...weird tastes." How would she react? Shinji accepted me, but he was a bit of a tool. ...That was a bit much on my part.

After swallowing her mouthful of food, she nodded, "I kinda like it. It's cool you have hobbies like this, a way to express yourself. Like when I write..."

"We both have something to really get into..." I noticed that my floor had some dirty clothes on it, "Excuse me, I better clean my carpet," Once again, Shinju gave me an odd look, "Make it so clean you could eat off it!" I winked as I jumped up and gathered the clothes into the hamper.

I noticed that Shinju was watching me, her pizza slice finished, "Nari... Can I tell you something?"

After closing the hamper and setting it aside for Yoshikazu to gather it later, I walked back to join her side, "Yes, my dear? I know I can be a bit critical at times, but I am always willing to lend you an ear."

"It's about that manwhore. And us..." Shinju spoke earnestly, a light blush on her cheeks, "Emiko explained to me about how he feels about you... How you both feel about me...and... I just wanted to ask you directly if it was true..."

I tilted my head, giving her a light smile, "Shinji told me how he feels. I might have squeezed it out of him..." I chuckled at my own inside joke, "-but he was willing to be probed."

Shinju laughed a bit at that, "Ah, I see how it is. Living up to his talent, I see... I'm not like him, I guess. He can adapt, but I'm not so sure... I mean... Nari, I'm worried. What he did with Shizue doesn't really anger me. I just feel... a bit empty."

I could understand where she was coming from. Shinju may act like nothing phases her, but deep down she was still just a girl with a tender heart. Her poetry, the way she so purely expressed herself, really spoke to the rest of us here. It was why I fell so madly in love with her, in one of our simulations. That memory was the haziest, which made me suspect it was the first game in that hell they were stuck inside. I might never know, though.

"...He loves you. Any time your name comes up between the two of us, he always has a smile on his face. He's come to me for advice, too. Says since I know you so well I could help him not be blind to your needs," I shook my head, "If it ever looks like he's got things in control, he really doesn't. He told me how horrible he felt when you heard about what happened with Shizue... He just wanted to close off all of his romantic feelings."

"Really? He never talks about that kind of stuff with me..." Shinju trailed off, "Does he just not trust me?"

I rolled my eyes, "He trusts you with his life, silly. I think he's just afraid... So since you're here, I guess I'll come clean. I like you, Shinju. You and him both accept me for who I am, and I can never thank either of you enough."

Shinju blushed at this. I suppose she must have known by now I had a crush on her, but her reaction was still so shy, so hesitant, so adorable, "...I'm a hypocrite, right? I bully him for being a manwhore, and then I go and fall for you, too..."

"Meh. What can you do? With all those simulations having an effect on the way we think, it's no surprise that love brewed up between more than just one or two couples. I don't mind sharing. Either of you." Shinju didn't expect that, her eyes widening, "There's lots of kinky things you can do with more people, sweetheart."

Shinju tried to break eye contact, "I see. I honestly don't know all that much about...that kind of stuff."

Jackpot, "Then I'll lead you, my precious little Succubus-in-training..." Before she could reply, I pressed my mouth to hers, feeling her hot breath on my lips. She quickly adjusted to face me as we intensified the pressure between us, and I was already feeling hot.

 _ **Shinji's POV**_

I awoke abruptly when Kenji covered his mouth and screamed into his palm in surprise. Not knowing what I had missed, I leaned over and saw the best thing I had all day. Wait, Shinju!? She and Nari were really going at it, and I swore I could see tongue, though from this distance I couldn't be sure.

Kenji squealed, "Her dominatrix regime extends to other girls!? I never considered this possibility!"

I shook my head, "We should go."

"But I have never observed the mating rituals of the mighty Homo Tsunderis. It's intriguing... I see some stripping going on..." The way he was watching them, I felt as if Takumi was channeling into him.

Annoyed, I moved forward and pushed him off of the roof, letting him fall into the ladder on the back. Both plunged down the ten or so feet to the beach. After hearing Kenji yelp in pain, I grabbed the walkie talkie he brought, "Kaz, clean up on the beach. Keep Kenji from peeping."

"Understood, Master Kizami," I wanted to correct him, but I dropped the walkie talkie when I tripped, falling into the skylight. The last thing I saw was my own terrified reflection before the glass burst into shards, raining down on a corner of Nari's room, only feet from her bed.

I don't know what hurt more; the glass in my back or the piercing glare from the two girls in front of me. This wild ride that had begun when we got trapped here was definitely not ending soon if Mr. Bones had anything to say about it.

"Speak of the dumbass..." Nari chuckled, walking forward, "Kaz has some work to do now... So, buddy, what are you doing here?"

Nari leaned down, just in her black lingerie underwear. Kenji was right in that they were getting down to business to defeat the hunger pains they had for each other.

"Erh!?" I squeaked out, terrified.

Nari grabbed my head and forced me to face her, "You were spying, huh?"

"Ahuh..." I nodded, nearly in tears.

"Kenji led you up there and you fell through, hm?" I nodded, "Did you knock him off first?" another nod from me made her smile, "Okay, then we can start with your punishment now."

I was ready to cry, "Hm?"

Shinju walked up behind Nari, her face illuminated by the demonic yellow lights twinkling in her eyes as she assessed my condition, "I want him first," she flexed her fingers, the long sharp nails ready to dig into my unprotected flesh.

Nari winked to her, "I bet... I have an idea..."

That evening, I found myself in the forest, sitting on the park bench. I had an empty glass bottle in my hand, and I dropped it in the nearby trash can. My brain was fried, and tear stains had dried on my face. I desired the warm embrace of death. Sometimes you had to just get a break. Ever since I got here, I've been a punching bag. I'm sick and tired of it!

In my back pocket, I kept something that always reminded me of my own mortality; the knife I had back when I fought that gang of hoodlums. No one even knew I had this with me. I'm not the kind of person to use things like that, but it was given to me, a gift from a friend of my dad's who died soon after. I kept it with me here only on the off chance someone sought to use me for their own escape.

Dark thoughts swirled in my head as I sat on that park bench. Drinking a whole bottle of sparkling apple cider usually cheered me up, but not even that could lift my spirits. Instead, it only made me feel worse. Solitude had an adverse effect on my health, but spending time with anyone else was the last thought on my mind as I sulked alone.

Imagine my surprise when I heard Shizue's voice cut through the silence, "Found you. Koneko was right, checking here was a smart move."

I acknowledged Shizue's existence as she seated herself next to me on that park bench, still wearing her Yuno outfit proudly, "I intended to be alone..."

Shizue placed a hand on my thigh, trying to get me to lower my guard, "That's what the others figured. Shinju and Nari rounded us up to find you after you stormed off away from them. Said they may have really set you off this time..."

"Fuck yes, they did!" I grabbed the other bottle of cider I had gotten and popped the cap off with my mouth, slicing my bottom lip, "'You want to watch? Fine'. That bitch handcuffed me to the damn bathroom door. Mocked me... Reminded me of... Fuck!" I drank the cider down, chugging down a quarter of the bottle before I was satisfied. Why do we even have bottle capped drinks anymore!? How the hell can I preserve this carbonated deliciousness without a proper top!?

"Treating sparkling cider like an alcoholic does his beer... You are certainly eccentric." Shizue tried to lighten the mood by joking about it, but I didn't relent, "They told me the whole story. Since, you know, they wanted to work things out between us all... They regret what they did, Shinji. Shinju got caught up in the moment, and Nari just loves to press your buttons..."

I shook my head, "Did they send you to spout this bullshit to me? I don't need it."

Shizue sighed, "Shinji... They're worried about you. They haven't seen you since yesterday. None of us have. I'm here to make sure you're safe and sound. No need to be so confrontational..."

"Bring 'em in," I sighed and waited, "Well? I know you brought them with you."

As if on cue, the nearby bushes rustled, and Shinju and Nari came out, both looking quite guilty. Shizue merely shook her head, "Figures you'd know. Then again, you know us all pretty well..."

I stood up, finishing the bottle of cider before slamming the bottle as hard as I possibly could into the trash can, watching it shatter into thousands of pieces, "So Nari... Now you've had time to grasp what happened... How was it? Being with both of us before we were with each other?"

Nari looked confused for a moment, "Uh, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Shinju and I have never been together in _that_ way. Shizue was my first," Nari must not have known that, what with her surprised expression, "So in Shinju's case... You were her first. I'd congratulate you, but there's something eating away at me... Maybe if I hadn't been forced to observe, I wouldn't be... so **fucking pissed**!"

Nari stepped back, the shock clearly expressed on her gentle face, "I didn't... Okay, I know. I fucked up. Truth was, I was playing out a fantasy of mine, haha. Kinda forgot to consider your feelings. I just assumed you'd want to play along, since you said-"

I cracked my neck, "No. Not if you don't ask me first. Purposefully bringing up memories of how Jun died!? For your own amusement!? That kind of deception... That was using me. Instead of asking me outright, you used me! And you played it off by pretending like I deserved it! Do you think because I love you I have to put up with your bullshit forever!? That you own me!?"

Nari was cringing at this point, fearful of what I was like in my anger, in my blind rage. I hadn't taken my pills that morning, and I had been set off, "I never-"

Shinju stopped her mid sentence, "He's right. What you-No, what we did. It was wrong. We need to be held accountable," Shinju was certainly taking this more delicately than the other two of us, "Considering the shit we put him through at times..."

"Smacking me. Mocking me. Tying me up. Verbally and psychologically abusing me under the guise of karmic retribution for my sins!? But it's okay, right!?" I had calmed down, but now I was just more hurt than anything, "He doesn't tell us to stop. He must like it. He just brushes it off. He's so adaptive. He's so strong. He loves us. He doesn't stand up for himself..." Tears were running down my face as I slumped to my knees, "I'm not a hero... I'm not invincible... I just want to be with you, to make you happy. But the stress, the pain..." I stood up, gripping my aching head, "I know I'm imperfect! I hate myself! So why do I have to suffer more!? Why!?"

Shizue walked over to the two of them, "Look what all your treatment has done. Nari, you always pick at his past. Never let Jun go since you heard the story."

Nari was also slumping forward to the ground, "He needs to get over that... I'm sick of seeing him with this sullen look on his face all the time, like his dog just died. If he doesn't get over it, he'll just keep hurting! And I don't want to see that..."

"So, what? You expected that pouring salt over the wounds would force him to change? Like you aren't still sore over your drunken mom and your dead dad?" Shizue sparked a reaction there, the fierce look in Nari's eyes clearly demonstrating she was very aware of every word, "He's literally made of emotions. Pain can't be erased. Picking at it won't help."

I didn't say anything, instead opting to rest my head on my arm, placed on the dirt-covered ground next to the bench.

"And you." Shizue turned to Shinju, "Manwhore, manwhore, manwhore. Like a broken fucking record. You know there are three other girls who like him? And whom he likes back? But what is he doing with them? Nothing! He tried to do what he thought was the right thing and forego any dating, but no! You urged him to consider it and punished him the second his answer was not only you! That's selfish bullshit!"

Shinju looked away, unable to stare her down in the eyes, "He's my first love... It's not wrong for me to want to be with him exclusively! That's how normal people work, dammit!"

Shizue slapped Shinju without remorse, knocking her over, "Says the girl who slept with Nari. Normal people..." she spat at that phrase, as if personally offended by it, "That's no excuse for abuse! You call him names all the time and hit him like he's your personal punching bag!" Shinju raised a hand to her now reddened cheek, "This isn't some harem anime; it's the real world! And we call that domestic abuse. It's not okay just because he puts up with it. I don't mind the occasional smack between the two of you, but hitting him whenever you want because you've got a grudge is unacceptable! I will not stand by and watch you abuse this dumbass anymore!"

"Aren't you kind of defeating the point if you call me names when you're calling them out on doing it?" I interjected.

"Unless you intend to tell them off for once, then you're a dumbass!" Shizue turned on me.

"I know I should! I know what makes for an unhealthy relationship, alright!? But I have faith in them! To change... And even if they hurt me, I know they never mean it..." I wiped the tear stains off of my face, "If they'd just ease up every now and then..."

Shizue sighed, placing her palm to her forehead, "Damn, but you're soft-hearted. Fine, fine. If he's so insistent, I won't force you two to treat him better. But would it kill you to be a little less tsun and a little more dere for once? He's just as vulnerable as you two are... God, how are we going to make six girls work?"

I must have heard that incorrectly, "I didn't quite catch that last part..."

Shizue laughed a bit, "Ah, right. While you were missing, the two of them and I came to an agreement! Well, more of an understanding. If Mayu, Koneko, and Granberia are willing to agree to this weird love dynamic you have about you, then neither Nari nor Shinju will drive them off. They'll probably still give you shit, though..."

I stood up and walked over to the two slores that had caused me so much heartache lately, kneeling down and holding both of them close to me, "I wouldn't have it any other way," I kissed the two of them on their heads, "What say we try and rest together? Try to get along for a night? I haven't slept so..."

Nari and Shinju both nodded, "Yeah, that sounds nice," Shinju said, sniffling a bit, "I guess we owe you... Forgiving us and all..."

As the three of us made up and apologized over our recent misbehavior, Shizue grinned in triumph, having resolved our conflict. None of us were perfect; but we meant everything to each other; and that was enough to try and make it work.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

Drama finally subsided for a while. Shinju, Nari, Shizue, and I all got along together swimmingly, persevering through our own unique personalities, likes, dislikes, tastes, and preferences. Nari and I played games together, though usually of the adult kind on her computer in her cottage, which tragically couldn't connect to the Internet. Other times, she would give me advice and pointers on the stories I liked to write in my spare time, or we would just talk for hours. My relationship with everyone on the island, both the romantic and platonic, progressed in some way.

Little did I know what Nari had in store for me. She was apparently serious about helping me overcome my past pains, and this led her to a disturbing and rather offensive suggestion. Even though I knew she meant well...

It was in the evening when I met Nari at the lounge, making her and myself a choco-latte. Kenji and Kibou had taken to naming all of the drinks we concocted, usually in the form of cringe worthy puns. Kibou was innocent, but Kenji was seriously pushing it.

I was just lazing about at this time; it was almost nine PM when I heard a noise echo out from behind me, the sound of footsteps on the cold tile floor. I noticed who it was; Nari was walking towards me, wearing a new school uniform. It looked familiar; what with the white and blue lines across the top and the carefully woven brown and gray skirt.

In fact, it looked like... my school uniform. The girl's school uniform, I mean. Not to say guys never wore the skirts, but this is getting off topic! Why is Nari dressed like the girls from my school!?

Nari noticed me staring blankly like an idiot, "Well, do I look good in it? Shizue and Yoshikazu helped me make it!" Nari posed in a couple of various ways, accentuating her good sides, "I needed it for my little request!"

"Request?" I was a bit unnerved by the way she said that.

My day was about to get worse than the time I tried to genocide in Undertale, and Nari's Ultimate Move definitely involved doing something.

I found myself with her in the forest, contemplating every life choice I had ever made and found that no matter where I looked, nothing could explain this nonsense I had gotten myself into. I was not ready for Freddy or Nari. And just like Freddy, Nari planned to stuff me inside her.

"Why would you think this is a good idea?" I asked, dragging my feet as she hurried me along with her into the forest, "I don't want to walk a mile in their shoes!"

Nari rolled her eyes, "Well, I want to roleplay the experience. So you can either shut up and agree to do this or I'll go ask someone else!"

I folded my arms, "We're in a killing game, you know. Just give me a reason to stab a manwhore."

Nari laughed, "Aw, defensive, aren't we? You're greedy, you know that? Your girl monopoly knows no limits..."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to roleplay a wanted felon. Seriously, you have some extreme tastes..." I shook my head, "Glad I don't have to compete with a tentacle monster at this rate."

"Maybe you'd man up if you were one. Now come on, you know the script!" Nari pushed me away for a moment, "Creep!"

As she ran off into the forest, I considered going to church instead.

 _ **One NSFW roleplay and one Emiko Free Time Event later...**_

After nearly catching Emiko (and possibly actually killing her), Nari finally tuckered out and fell to the forest floor, unable to force her body to move anymore. I walked up behind her, "Didn't chase her very long, did you? Guess I tired you out..."

"Shut up, dumbass! Help me up already..." I rolled my eyes before picking her up and holding her close to me as I carried her bridal style, "Hey! Watch the clothes!"

I sighed, "Yeah, like the stains you've got would wash out, anyways. Messing around on the forest floor and not expecting grass stains? Idiot."

She didn't rebuke me, and instead held me close as I carried her out through the small cave and towards our cottages. When I got to her cottage, I lowered her enough to reach the handle with my hand and tried twisting it, taking more than a few tries. The door finally creaked open, and I carried Nari inside and set her down.

She quickly hopped onto her bed, coaxing me into joining her, "Hey, want to sleep over? It's kind of cold tonight, and..."

"If you just want to cuddle, say so," I laughed as she pouted at me, "I kid, I kid. Of course."

Shinju's voice broke the silence, "Heard you guys had fun, hm? Emiko talked about it..."

"That bitch!" Nari was already getting to her feet, so easily agitated, "Why, I ought to kick her ass!"

"We'll worry about it later," I assured her, petting her cheek, "She's just trying to rile you up."

Shinju nodded, "Yeah, Nari. It's fine. We have other things to worry about. The other's want to discuss our opponents tomorrow. Satoshi finally got Takeshi to agree to come to the meeting with us."

I nodded, "Nico's wanted to discuss that for a while. He's really trying to get us to work together. I applaud his efforts."

Nari sighed, "If that's what you want... Shinji? Did our little session help? You haven't said much since we got out of the forest."

I scratched the back of my head, "Well, I really don't know. It's too early to say if it'll have any long term effect on me. I say we just let it be for now."

Nari reluctantly nodded, but Shinju stepped in, "As long as we work together, it'll be fine in the end."

Nari nodded, looking uncharacteristically happy for once, You're right..."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5#**

The next day, the meeting began, everyone seated in a semi circle outside as we had rearranged the picnic tables to face each other. On either side, we had the boys and the girls, separated like this simply because Takumi was not to be trusted.

Satoshi clapped his hands to celebrate the group, "Glad we could gather here. We need to discu-"

Shinju quickly talked over him, "Our new enemies, right? Fuuko, Kiyo, Kenta, Misery, and that Izuru bastard! What do you guys think we should do about this?"

"Well, I thought that we could start b-" Satoshi was cut off once more.

Nico stood up, "Obviously, we need to find a way to work together perfectly! If we can't beat 'em, we outsmart them!"

Satoshi nods in agreement, "Teamwork is imperative! So perhaps if we just group up and-"

"Hit it 'til it dies!" Takumi fist pumped, though everyone looked at him, disappointed, "What? It never fails to defeat a foe!"

"Does someone else hear a Spanish guitar? Anyone? Just me?" Kenji asked, reluctantly raising his hand.

Satoshi loudly cleared his throat, "Are you done?"

Yoshikazu spoke up, "I am more of a background kind of person, as you all may know. I will go along with whatever you all shall decide upon."

Daisuke shook his head, "Naw, man. Your voice needs to be expressed, too. What you think matters to us. To me at least..." God, Daisuke, don't be so corny!

Takeshi snorted, "Ha! Gay!"

Takeshi earned a swift smack from Nari, who sent him falling off of the side, "Don't disrespect Daisuke like that! He's got enough to worry about without you making it worse."

"Uh, Nari? Did you like, express sympathy for someone?" Kenji mostly meant it as a joke. Mostly.

Nari pouted, folding her arms and sticking her tongue out at him, "Excuse you, but I am a refined human being. I care about your health. Even if it's against my best interests..."

"Never thought I'd see the day..." Daisuke mentioned under his breath.

Akihiko chuckled, grabbing me and whispering, "Conquered Tsun Mountain, did ya? Good on you, man!"

Nari glared daggers at Akihiko, who shrunk away from me, "Watch what you say, Boxer boy. I'm still not a Saint..."

Shinju finally spoke once more, "Well, glad to see that there's some progress being made here. Maybe we'll be able to get out of this in one piece after all..."

It was true. Nari was trying to come out of her shell, and it was encouraging to see her shed her less personable character traits. She would always be rough around the edges, but that's what we like about her.

"What are you starin' at me for, dumbass?" Nari chewed me out for gazing at her, to my surprise, "Keep your eyes to yourself, lover boy."

I laughed a bit at that one, "Understood, ma'am."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **You have unlocked the skill, "Regal Roleplayer". Donning the many masks of the roles of life and expanding your newfound interests with Nari has granted you the ability to use the Focus Gauge in Logic Dive to speed up or slow down if needed!**

 **You have been awarded Nari's lingerie! You can access the description in the Presents menu. Congratulations!**


	18. Shinju's Free Time Events

**Author's Note: Like Twogami, the last FTE cannot be obtained before the story has been beaten. The reason why will become clear in due time.**

 _ **Free Time Events with Shinju Sakyubasu, the Ultimate Poet**_

 **Free Time Event 1#**

Why was I sitting at the cafeteria's picnic tables in the intense heat? The answer is that I am a complete and total pushover, and after an awkward encounter with Satoshi earlier that day involving the bath houses and Daisuke's jockstrap, I wanted to burn the images of horror away.

Shinju had asked me to spend time with her, since I had been giving her an unusual amount of space. She intimidated me in some ways, but I didn't dislike her. In fact, I liked her too much, if anything.

"There you are," Shinju was late, but she made it sound like I was the one who went AWOL.

"Two o'clock, right? It's three, you know. Way to leave me hanging, Shinju. I feel so loved," I gave her my usual snarky attitude, just like she expected.

She rubbed the back of her head, looking away awkwardly, blushing a bit, "I was caught up doing something, okay."

"Hope it wasn't Akihiko," I joked around, since she had accidentally peeked on him changing in the pool. He had been too excited to pump out a few laps to properly change into his swim trunks, which ended up in an awkward encounter.

She actually looked hurt by my joke, giving me a wistful look, "I..." She turned around, trying to find the right words to say.

I quickly jumped up, "Shinju, it's a joke. I know you're not like that! Please, don't cry!"

Shinju turned to look at me, before smacking me. I could feel the heat in my face as blood rushed to my face, "You baka baka baka!" She smacked me in the head twice more, and I cringed, falling back onto the table, trying to lessen the damage inflicted by her attacks.

Shinju eventually tired herself out, and having expended all of her anger towards me, lowered her hands, "I...I'm sorry. I took that a bit far, huh. I didn't hurt you, did I?" She offered me her hand, but I didn't move mine, keeping my face out of harm's way.

"Pl...Please...No more!" For a brief moment, I forgot what I was doing there. She hadn't actually hurt me, but I was more surprised at her sudden attack than the actual event. Not to say I didn't deserve it for teasing her so.

"Shinji? I...I'm sorry, I stopped! Relax, okay?" She got down onto her knees, being careful not to hurt herself on the gravel and rocks on the poorly made courtyard area, due to her skirt not covering her knees.

Reluctantly, I lowered my arms, "Oh. Shinju?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to get back to reality, "Oh, sorry. You didn't uh, you didn't hurt me. I was just having...some bad memories."

She sat next to me and placed her hand on my thigh, "Bad memories? Like what?" She seemed concerned, though I preferred she didn't act like this in the first place. Mostly, it was the surprise that had affected me.

I shrugged off the bad thoughts, "Don't worry 'bout it. I'm not going to burden you with stories about me. Waste of time..." We sat in silence for a moment, and the awkwardness began building up, "Shinju, let's just hang out like we promised, alright? You wanted to get to know me better, yeah?"

Shinju awkwardly laughed a bit, "I had something else in mind..." Huh?

I found myself in the pool, in my blue swimming trunks. Thanks to Akihiko's insistence, I had begun training with him, so I had lost some of the flab I began this adventure with. I was leaner, but I didn't have exciting muscles or a ripped physique. Although he certainly ensured me I would eventually.

Shinju was sitting on the sidelines, having finally convinced Shizue, who was now wearing a red and blue wet suit, to join her. Daisuke, who had been here earlier, was doing laps in the deep end, training his physique. Apparently, he trained in the pool just like Akihiko.

Speaking of Akihiko, he joined us, his black speedo another surefire sign of his confidence. Kenji was also here, wary of us, wearing a bright orange pair of swimming trunks, "Is that everyone?" Kenji asked, getting impatient.

Shinju nodded, "Yeah, Koneko and Granberia both turned me down, and Satoshi had to work on a ballot box or something," she shot a glance my way as I whistled nonchalantly.

Shizue added, "Nico and Yoshikazu are hanging out right now, as well. Nico wanted to learn something from him. I'm quite pleased that he has finally decided to open up a bit more."

Shinju shrugged, "Fine. I'll go get changed, and then we can hang out!" Shinju ran into the girl's locker room and disappeared in an instant.

As Shinju left, Shizue, Kenji, and Akihiko all jumped into the pool, "Sad more people didn't show up..." Shizue said, sounding somewhat lonely.

"I'm here too. Wish I hadn't chosen to..." We looked up to see Nari, who was wearing a black bikini. She looked pretty good, though I would sooner die than say that aloud. Or rather, I'd die sooner if I did.

Akihiko coughed a bit, "Wow, you look good."

Nari blushed and kicked water into Akihiko's face, blinding him a bit, "Sh-shut up!"

"He's not wrong, though..." After realizing I had said that aloud, I cursed myself out, but she didn't respond violently, merely deciding to drop into the pool silently.

Kenji moved a step towards Akihiko, though I figured he was more intimidated than afraid, "Please don't hit me again..."

Nari relaxed against the side of the pool, laying her back flat against the curved wall, "Don't call me names and we'll be fine."

I decided to try and make conversation with Kenji since I rarely had spent any time with him, "Hey, Kenji. Did Hanako choose not to come?"

"Yeah, she was too scared. She likes to swim alone, in the mornings. Really relaxes her, so she says. Not even I have caught her here..." he laughed, "Like, she has a sixth sense to avoid us pretty well."

"You mean you've tried?" Akihiko jeered his comrade, who quickly huffed, with a small tinge of red on both cheeks.

Shinju had finished changing, and when I looked over, I literally could no longer breathe for a moment. She was wearing the most suggestive swimwear I'd ever seen in my life. Her red top only covered the bare minimum, and her bottom was more like a thong than an actual bikini bottom. I couldn't articulate what I thought of this.

Clearly, Akihiko and Kenji couldn't either. Akihiko blushed and looked away as Shinju jumped into the water, "I didn't expect that."

Kenji was doing the 'Dead Man in the Water' swim, floating away behind Akihiko and I, "What did I just...Ahg!"

Shinju seemed confused, "Uh, guys? What's wrong?"

Shizue was also confused, and she voiced that thought, "Yeah, Shinju looks good. I don't see a problem."

Nari was blushing herself, and for a moment, I thought I saw her drooling a bit, "Shinju, you're practically dressed like a beach slut."

"The hell is a beach slut?" Shinju exclaimed, somewhat annoyed.

Kenji interjected, "Nari's just being reminded of her mom, I wager."

Akihiko quickly grabbed Kenji by the hand and picked him up, fleeing outside at full speed from the side door. Nari gave chase, dashing at full speed in an attempt to scare them off. She stopped at the door before settling back into the water, more relaxed than before, "Works like a charm."

"You're not going to chase after them?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"And leave this absolutely enthralling water? No way...I'm enjoying the sights, too." Nari looked at Shinju hungrily for a moment, but quickly avoided her gaze.

I laughed at this. Nari was a bit of a closet pervert, "Wow, Nari. Didn't know you liked Shinju that way. Ask her to snuggle 'em, already."

Nari blushed like wildfire, "Wha...I'm not doing anything lewd!"

"Drooling at Shinju's cleavage isn't lewd?" I chuckled, significantly, but she glared at me.

"Y-you are, too!" Nari pointed out, and I didn't deny it. Normally, I tried to be significantly more respectful of others, but that damn outfit of hers was purposefully distracting.

Shinju covered her chest, blushing. "Guys, what the hell!?"

Shizue laughed, "Ah, they're both crushing on you. It's kinda cute, huh?"

"What!? Am not!" Nari and I both exclaimed, simultaneously.

Shinju laughed at Shizue's comment and our reactions, and we all calmed down and forgot our worries, bonding in the pool.

After a while, Shinju opened up a new conversation, "Jokes aside. Hey, Shinji? Is there anybody you like here?"

I was floating just under water when she asked this, and when I tried to respond, I accidentally swallowed some water, forcing me to cough violently to get it out of my system. When I finally resurfaced, I was no longer an annoying shade of red, "I uh... I don't know what you're asking, really. I like everyone here, as friends."

Shinju rolled her eyes, "Come off of that, dumbass. We both know what I meant."

Shizue once again laughed at our interactions, "A bit forceful, aren't you? Is there something you're not telling us, Shinju?"

"What!? Of course not! I'm just curious. It's not like I care if he has feelings for someone or anything!" Shinju turned to Nari, who was looking away and casually whistling, "Right, Nari? Nothing wrong with being curious, yeah?"

Nari reluctantly nodded, "I guess... I haven't really thought about that kind of stuff, though. And I couldn't care less about his little crushes."

"Won't leave this alone, will you?" I sighed, a gruff tinge to my voice, "Fine, whatever. If I have to be honest, the answer is yes. I am interested in someone. Perhaps. Maybe. But it doesn't matter. I've decided to refrain from anything so idiotic as falling for someone in a killing game! Makes no sense to me."

Shizue frowned at this more negative approach, "Oh, but that's no fun! Plus, if it's really that dangerous, then maybe it's your only shot."

Nari shrugged, "Only shot to get his heart broken when they outright shoot him down, you mean. It's too much to deal with." She moved her hair out of her way, not letting up that fierce look on her face, as if daring me to talk back.

Shinju ignored the both of them and directed her comment towards me, "Shinji, if you feel that way, just be honest about it. Whether it works out or not; you have to try. That's what makes life worth it, right?"

I begrudgingly nodded in understanding, "Yeah, yeah, I get it, already. I'll consider it, but no promises."

Shinju smiled at that, one of her bottom canines peeking out above her lip. God, but that was cute.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

I was standing outside of the library, waiting on Shinju to check out whatever book she was looking for. It did not particularly matter to me what she did in her spare time, but dragging me along to check out books was an odd way to spend time.

Shinju finally walked out, carrying a small book with no noticeable cover, "Hey, 'bout time. What'd you get?" I poked fun at her.

Shinju didn't say anything immediately, giving me an 'Are you serious?' look, "We can't literally check them out, you know. So I read a bit of it inside and checked it back in before I left. And it's none of your business."

I noticed she said this playfully, but I decided not to pursue the topic, "So may we hang out now? I'm kind of excited to see what you have planned."

Shinju must not have expected me to be so enthusiastic, but she adapted quickly, "Figured we could just go to my room and talk."

I shrugged, and soon we made our way inside her room. I noticed she had a wardrobe opened up, and it contained all kinds of clothes, mostly very revealing ones, "Wow... Nice spread. Why do you dress like that? Not to hate, of course. Just curious."

Shinju casually shrugged, "I'm not afraid of what people think of me. Besides, it's just comfortable for me. Plus, if a guy's only looking for a good time, I can weed them out. Lets me check priorities quickly. Then again, even you and Nari stare at me like a piece of meat..."

I could feel it was getting hot in here, "Hey, hey, hey! That's not fair! You're literally one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met... And we don't normally do that."

Shinju laughed, wiping her hair out of her face, "Fine, fine, I'll spare you for now," Shinju sat on the edge of the bed, "Actually, are you alright? Bags under your eyes don't look good. Have you been getting sleep?"

"No, not really. Usually I sleep with a fan on and cuddling an obese and possibly diabetic dog. I need the warmth and cuddles, man..." I chuckled, "I tried snuggling Panterbell, but he's too small. I'm worried I might crush him in my sleep."

"Well, crap. I was about to suggest sleeping with the kitten, but..." Shinju hesitated saying anything more for a moment, "...I suppose that's problematic for you, even with sleeping medications."

I shook my head, "When I was younger, I had a severe fear of the dark. Sleeping alone, I'd develop cases of paranoia. Every shadow was a monster, weaving a trap, their dark tendrils creeping towards me. Every noise, another unseen assailant plotting my untimely demise. Overactive imagination and all..."

Shinju grabbed a couple of chairs and moved them for us, and the two of us sat nearly in unison, "You're very descriptive, you know. Do you write in your spare time?"

"Yeah, on occasion. It's just a hobby, though," I pulled out a small journal I kept in my back pocket, "Way back in the day, I had a group of friends. Where I met Jun. They actually got me into writing."

Shinju smiled, "That's nice. Writing is really amazing; it lets you express yourself in ways that you might not be able to in words. All of my poems are meant to make people feel and understand what I'm trying to convey."

I nodded, "I've read some of your work. It's really beautiful stuff, Shinju. I've always wondered what inspires you. Lately I've been lacking in that department. Like 'A Rose in the Night', or even your last work. What was it? 'The Longing Never Ends'? The unrequited love thing, right?"

Shinju must not have remembered that work as vividly as the others, because she gave me a rather confused look before it hit her, "Ah, yes. I wrote that one just a month before we came here, riiight. I don't actually remember that work all that well. When I found out I was invited to go to Hope's Peak, I got so stressed over meeting their standards."

Going to Kibougamine Academy is very taxing, really. People look up to it, knowing the rule; If you graduate, you are set for life. They rarely stop to think of the consequences, the high standards you're held to, the stress that never lets up.

I nodded, "Then it's alright. I know that feeling. The unease, wondering what could possibly happen next... Though in my case, I just wondered why. Why me? I'm not anything special..."

Shinju shook her head, "Is that how you really feel about yourself? If they chose you, that means you have some qualities they want. Right?"

I couldn't argue with that, but considering some of the talents allowed into this school, I wasn't wholly convinced my talent was worth something, "..." I wanted to say something, anything, but the lack of sleep had begun to tear at my mental capacities.

"Shinji, come on, man. Keep up; try not to fall asleep on me! Geez... You're really blanking out now," she shook me, "Shinji! Is there anything I can do to help you get to sleep?"

"Not really. Without my beast of a Shiba here-" That's when an idea popped into my mind, "Hey! I know! You can sleep with me!" Shinju blushed wildly, and I suppose I could have worded it better, "Wait, no! Awful suggestion. We're still kinda strangers, huh? Forget I said that," I let out a nervous laugh.

Shinju didn't say anything, and considering what she said next, I have to retroactively assume she was working up her courage, "I...I could be convinced to help you out. I mean, if the only way to get you to fall asleep is to do something like that..." For someone who came off so confident and self-assured, her indecisiveness really touched my heart.

I sighed, both in relief and exhaustion, "You don't have to force yourself for my sake."

"I'm trying to help you, idiot! Just accept my charity for once!" And there was the fire in her eyes that told me I had no say any more.

I caved, "Alright."

With that, I found myself tired and on her bed, on the side by the wall. I preferred this corner, lest I rolled off and ate the floor. I only wore my white undershirt and checkered boxers, but that was enough. The fan in the distance, the big metallic ones that worked so well they shook due to the speed of the fan blade, was on high. Apparently, Shinju also liked some kind of white noise in her peripherals when she went to sleep as well.

Shinju finally came out of her bathroom, wearing just her underclothes and a nightgown, a pink nearly see-through one covering herself as she slid into bed beside me, "Well...I guess it's time, right?"

I gently patted her on the head, "Sleep, you mean? Goodnight, Shinju." With my hands on either side of my head, I quickly fell asleep, the contrast of cold air and warmth beside me aiding in my passing to the dream world.

Screams. The sound of people arguing in the background. Laughter, psychotic and demonic. My dream quickly devolved to nightmares. Everyone was dead, except for a select few of us. The latest trial was upon us, and I knew who the killer was.

Alongside me, Takumi was assuring Hanako that everything would be okay, that Kenji was watching over her. Satoshi and Kibou clung to each other, and Nari stood by my side, unwilling to look anyone else in the eye. Shinju was next to her, and Nari gave her a quick kiss before the trial truly started. Finally, Daisuke sat alone on the opposite side, the tear stains dried on his face. Yoshikazu had just been murdered, and his killer was at this small group's circle.

The dream faded out, but when it came back into focus, the group was now one short. And on a big televised screen above where the trial was held, I was forced to watch Shinju's execution. She was found out as the killer, and tried to hide her reasons for killing. Monotaro had sold her out with a gleeful smile, revealing her motive; she had tried to kill Takumi, but Yoshikazu had triggered her trap first.

Nari begged for Shinju to explain why she wanted to leave so badly that she would kill the rest of her friends; Shinju's chilling response was that if everyone she cared about had to die, she'd at least do it herself. She was willing to take on the burden of being the survivor with the bloodied hands. And with that, she was gone.

I had dreams about these mysterious experiences before. It felt like I had been part of killing games before, but each scenario was different; each set of events different. With how many paths that were possible, I experienced a multitude. This was just the latest. I had my suspicions about where these memories came from, however.

Regardless of whether it was nightmare-induced hallucinations or just the creativity of my tainted mind, it had shaken me up. I wasn't awoken until the sound of a shrill scream rang out, and I was quickly forced back into the real world, where I noticed Shinju breathing heavy, sweat on her face, a frightened expression on her face, "Shinju...? Did something happen?"

Shinju noticed she had woken me up, "Shinji, I'm s-sorry. I just had a terrible nightmare! I...Everyone was..." She was on the verge of tears, and I could only venture a guess to what she had just been through.

"So I'm not the only one having those nightmares..." I grabbed Shinju and pulled her close to me, "It's alright, Shinju. I'm here."

Shinju just stayed in my embrace as she tried to explain what had happened, "My nightmare... It seemed so real. I thought... I really thought I was in a trial! That someone had been murdered! And then the execution... Monotaro isn't joking around, is he?!"

I gently shushed her as I stroked her hair, feeling her warmth, a sharp contrast to the ice cold tears rolling down her face, "No, he's not. That's why we need each other."

Shinju calmed down a bit after thinking on it, and she eventually asked, "You're not going to tell everyone what a crybaby I can be, right?"

"'Course not. They all already know," Shinju elbowed me in the side, but it didn't hurt, "Kidding, kidding. Your secret's safe with me," I assured.

Shinju snuggled up to me, possibly unconsciously, and soon fell asleep. I was touched that she trusted me so, and it always humbled me. Never taking friends for granted was definitely the way to live. Then again, there wasn't really a personality that I couldn't handle. Usually.

Then again, Hope's Peak defied all expectations, didn't it?

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

We had seen Satoshi and Kibou off, and that's when Shinju and I headed back to my cottage. We didn't really have anything else to do that night, so I suggested we just talk and get to know each other better.

When we got back, Shinju thought up a curious idea, "Hey, I just thought of something fun we could do sometime soon."

"What did you have in mind, exactly?" I asked, nervous. Shinju had been holding a bit of a grudge towards me since I had been with Shizue and Nari, unbeknownst to her. Though she acted like she had been over it ever since that argument that broke out between the four of us, she still seemed a bit touchy on certain topics.

"Well, we've spent a lot of time together, but I know so little about you. And I bet you're curious about me, too, right?" Shinju was directing this conversation somewhere, "Figured we could make a game of it. Play some card game, winner asks the loser something. Loser has to be honest, of course."

I shrugged, "Eh, that sounds alright. I don't see a problem with that."

And with that, we soon found ourselves playing a game called Egyptian War. Unfortunately, Shinju was better at both swift reactions and memorizing card placements, and quickly beat me in the first round without trying.

"Wow, were you really trying?" Shinju jokingly mocked me, "Or am I just that good?"

I knocked my bangs out of my face so I could clearly see, "You are a talented person, Shinju," I mentally celebrated when I saw that familiar coloring lighten up her cheeks, unable to hide her embarrassment at my comment.

Shinju quickly shook off whatever she was distracted by and asked, "What should I ask first... Start small, right? What dark secrets could you have...?"

"Dark secrets? I mean... It's not like I'm some super in-depth person," I bluntly commented.

Shinju shrugged, "Favorite color?"

"Boring. Teal. Next round." The second game ended considerably in my favor, but only because the luck was with me. I silently thanked my friend Chiyandora, who likely would never believe what I had gotten myself into.

"That just wasn't even fair," Shinju was a bit annoyed by how poorly the game treated her that round.

"So why do you prefer poetry, hm?" I decided to inquire about her talent. Knowing how she discovered it would teach you a lot about a person's motives in life.

Shinju chuckled, "Oh, that's an easy one. My mom did it in her youth, and I managed to find some of her old work. I began practicing it in my spare time. I was nervous, so I only ever showed my little sister, Tojiko," Shinju held out a small pocketbook I had seen her write in on occasion, "When my parents found out, they supported me, and soon I was able to get it published in a local poetry magazine. After that, I guess it just snowballed. Of course, I used a pen name for most of my life. Miku Hikari. Somethin' my dad came up."

"They sound really supportive of you... Wish I had a bigger family," I really did, in some ways, "Anyways... Next game."

Shinju won the next two games, and I ended up telling her about the incident where Jun died, and how I was scouted by the Academy. She wasn't very excited to hear it, due to the content, "Wow... That's really disturbing..."

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah... Next round." I lost again, this time getting completely outmatched, "Can't manage to win a simple card game more than once... And they called me an Ultimate. What a joke."

"Why do you do that?" When she noticed my confusion, she refined her query, "This whole talking badly about yourself. I hope you know that doesn't make people like you more."

That stung a bit, "I don't do it for people to like me! I don't need your pity... I don't deserve it..." She eyed me, as if I was misbehaving again, "I feel this way because of my failures. I know that... everyone makes mistakes, but... I always wanted to hold myself to a much higher standard."

Anyone that has experienced firsthand the kind of pain careless actions can cause would sympathize with this train of thought. "My friends have all been people down on their luck, screwed over by life, bullied, bad home lives... I know what pain does to people, and I know what's right and wrong. And even then, knowing all that, I still find ways to fuck it all up..."

"Shinji..." Shinju began to talk, but I motioned for her to be silent for just a while longer.

Sighing, I continued, "Even now... I try to be accommodating, try to make everyone happy. Do what anyone asks of me, put up with any treatment. And even then... I hurt the people closest to me... I hurt you, and all because I was too afraid to stand up for myself, to stay strong..."

"You're referring to what happened with Shizue, right? I didn't think you were that torn up about it..." Shinju never really asked me how I felt about her treating me like a low-class playboy about that, but her reaction was expected and understandable.

"Not just that... I'm careless, a procrastinator with a negative outlook on life, and I always feel like... Like everyone hates me. So I don't try, I don't express myself. I just lock myself up in my room and hide," Despite my relationship with Jun, I rarely ever left the house for any other reason, and Kiyo and Takuro could both attest to my absence around my friends once the last bell sounded. "I just... But here, that's not an option. I have to be social, I _need_ to. If a single person dies... That just means I wasn't trying hard enough to stop it..."

Shinju reached out towards me, placing her hand on my shoulder, "Shinji... What will blaming yourself for other people's decisions get you? I really doubt anyone will kill, but even if they did... You aren't responsible for them."

"... I know," I finally answered, "It's rather pointless of me to feel that way, but... Let's just move to the next round, shall we?"

The next round saw my unexpected comeback victory, but I wasn't really jazzed up about it, "I can't really think of anything to ask... I mean, I know a lot about you at the surface. What foods you like, how you spend your time, that kind of thing. Guess I'll pass 'til I think of something."

Shinju shrugged at this, and we continued playing, though nothing major came up after that. I was just glad to be able to talk to her like this, that she was willing to open up to me.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

That bastard Kenji had left me to die, and I was now in the hot springs, surrounded by Granberia, Mayumi, Koneko, Shizue, Shinju, and Nari.

For the second time in a single month, I found myself, back against the wall, facing my demise, "...Screw it. Kill me. Whatever."

"Awe, that's no fun..." Nari sinisterly grinned at me, "I like it when they try to run..."

"Kenji screwed me... Again! Just kill me! I'm sick of being his joke!" I clenched my fist and punched the tile wall, "I suppose... I deserve this."

Shinju halted the others, "Wait, I've got an idea. Considering what we were discussing... This is the perfect time to enact our plan..."

Granberia seemed forlorn, "Goodbye, Shinji... I will miss you."

Bad End!?

"Honestly, I do not see the point in making him feel so uneasy. Shinju, if you would," Mayu tried to encourage her to get on with whatever she had planned, "Certainly he's been stressed out enough lately."

Shinju sighed, "Awe, kill the tension, why don't you? You know I'm just teasing..."

Nari nodded, "Which he does deserve. Plus, it's cute when Shinju gets all huffy with him," Nari waved to an ironically huffy Shinju, "Although I like the feeling, too."

Koneko took the group's infighting as an opportunity to join me and offer her hand, pulling me to my feet, "Thanks, Koneko. I swear, I never meant to walk in on you guys this time."

"This time?" Granberia stood behind me, her arms crossed as she glared at me, "So last time wasn't an accident?"

I quickly crossed my hands into an X to protect myself, "W-well... I mean... Yeah, it wasn't. Kenji demanded I do recon, and I just went along with it."

Shizue must have been sneaking up on me, because she whispered into my ear ever so delicately, "Ohh, Yuuuuki~!" The little singsong voice at the end startled me even more. My body reacted by instincts, landing me in the warm water, my heart beating fast as I tried to keep myself from screaming in surprise.

"What a scaredy cat," Nari noted, having joined us while Mayu and Shinju discussed something. Upon realizing that Koneko was glaring at her, she added, "Give me sass and I'll hide your stash of catnip!"

Koneko folded her ears in sadness and disappointment, her tail hanging between her legs, "Yes, Nari."

Shizue interrupted, "You behave, too, Nari. Otherwise you might not find that unicorn horn of yours!"

At this, Nari quickly quieted herself, an angry and red face making her look so cute, "What are you looking at?"

"People very important to me," I answered earnestly.

Shizue chuckled, "Corny, aren't you? What a charmer."

Shinju and Mayu had finally joined us, and both had been observing our interactions. Mayu spoke first, "Originally, I was very skeptical of this group dynamic. The modern world typically doesn't value these kinds of relationships like some did. There are exceptions, but those are few and far between."

Shinju nodded, "At first, I thought he was just playing us, but..." She shook her head, "Well, the past is the past. We need to focus on the future. What we came here to discuss, Shinji, besides just private girl things, was how we intend to handle the Killing Life. Monotaro seems hellbent on forcing that lifestyle upon us, and we've been thinking of strategies to combat any motives he may throw our way."

I nodded, "Wow, really? Nico tried to get some of the guys to agree as well. Kaz, Daisuke, Satoshi, Kibou, Hanako, Kenji. We've been really trying to rally together. Then there's people like Emiko, Takeshi, and Takumi, who refuse to be tied down to stringent rules."

"It is good to have patterns planned beforehand, to better observe and outmaneuver our enemy," Granberia added, bringing insight with her comment, "We thought it was especially important, considering the motives. A group like ours is ripe to cause despair and distrust amongst the group, so destroying our bonds will likely be his primary motivation going into the game."

I was honestly trying not to think about that, but she was right. Due to how much they meant to me and vice versa, if any of us were to die, that would seriously demoralize everyone, "...I've just tried to keep in line."

"You've been making friends with a lot of people here," Shizue rarely spoke seriously, so when she did, I paid absolute attention, "If anything, Monotaro might prioritize getting you killed to cause the most damage. Sorry to say that straight to you, but it's blatantly obvious where he'll strike first."

Mayu added, "That is why we have been discussing how to ensure that doesn't happen by all of us scheduling and keeping watch. So none of us are ever alone," she handed me a set of notes detailing specific times for every one of us that she had placed inside a small bag on the rock's side, "With this, we switch off often enough to all get time with you, but it also ensures our own safety. We suggested a similar solution to Satoshi, but some of the other's refused such a restrictive scheduling."

I looked it over, "Wow, this work is impeccable. Bad idea to take it into a humid hot springs, though," I quickly folded it up and handed it back to Mayu, who swiftly hid it away.

Shinju finally talked again, letting the others take the lead, "Since we are all gathered here... I was meaning to ask. If... Well, I'll ask this; which of us is your favorite?"

"Favorite? I don't..." I was confused by her query

Nari rolled her eyes, "...Idiot. She's asking which of us you like the best."

I couldn't understand what they were asking for, "W-what? A favorite? If I could fervently say I loved one of you more than the others... I probably would have kept myself exclusive to that person, you know? I mean, so long as that's what they preferred," I motioned to Shinju when I said that, "I told you guys before. I love you all equally."

"I'm saying if you had to choose-" Shizue tried to specify what they meant, but I wasn't going to hear of it.

"All of you. I'd do anything it takes to ensure you guys all make it out safely. Even if it costs me an arm, a leg... My life. When I confessed to each of you, I gave you everything I have and every part of who I am. I will not compromise," I always hated options in game where you could only save one person. Instead of deliberating on the two, I would just get both of them. No one had to die.

Maybe that was too idealistic for the situation, but that was a part of who I am.

Nari laughed, "I told you, Shinju. Too wishy-washy to choose," she grinned when I gave her an annoyed look, "I never said that was all bad, my dear companion."

Shizue nodded in understanding, "I expected as much. I just hope you know what not choosing might cost you later on."

Granberia was more optimistic, "I have faith in Shinji. He saved me once, and I believed we were destined to die. So I know he'll try his best."

Koneko nodded, rubbing up against my cheek with her forehead for a brief moment, "Same. I know he'll protect us, nyan!"

"All this sappy crap is making me sick," Nari joked, "I'm going to bed. Night, people." We bid Nari adieu.

I noticed Shinju wasn't being lively in the talks soon after, so I decided to ask, "Shinju? Is there something wrong?"

Her fists were slightly clenched, but she let go of the pressure, "... Just a personal issue of mine. I'll get over it."

"Shinju, if there's anything I can do to cheer you up-"

She stopped me, "It's fine," her curt reply suggested otherwise, "...Sorry. I know it's just you being yourself. Sometimes you frustrate me, is all."

Then it clicked, "Ah, you were the one who wanted to know my favorite. I see..." I pondered this quandary for a quick consideration, "You know you mean the world to me, Shinju. You all do, though. Choosing would be... heartless of me."

Shinju nodded, "I understand, Shinji. I... I'm glad you care about us all so much. If you didn't I'd..." Shinju quickly grabbed her forehead, "Oww!"

"Shinju!?" Shizue exclaimed, running to her side, "Are you alright?"

Shinju nodded after a moment or two of silence, "Yeah, just have a headache. Sometimes I get them when I'm overly stressed. This imprisonment has been wearing me out, you know?"

With that, we all decided to head back to our cottages. Little did I know what was in store.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5#**

 **-Locked Until Completion of Chapter Six-**


	19. Shinji's Free Time Events

_**Author's Note: These all take place over the course of days 29 and 30 of the free time period, thus detailing the end of the time where no one will be murdered. That doesn't mean there won't be a major conflict this time with a certain villain, and this will set the stage for the actual murders to begin. It also features some characters that need a little more spotlight. ;D**_

 _ **Free Time Events with Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic**_

 **Free Time Event 1#**

 **-Daisuke's POV-**

Waking up is always a great start to any day! That's a motto I've kept with me my entire life! I can't save my sister and defeat these evil bastards holding us captive otherwise! Even more so, today is Day 29. Tomorrow is the last day we get before our evil overlords truly try to destroy our group morale, and I refuse to let them ruin my friendship with the people here! I'll protect Shinji, and Li'l Sis, and Yoshikazu! No matter what.

I arrived at the outdoor courtyard a bit... Well, significantly earlier than the others. Yoshikazu was fervently working to make us breakfast, and the only other arrivals were Emiko and Akihiko, who were seated next to each other, talking eagerly. I still could barely believe that Aki had showed interest in her; Emiko was kind of a bitch in some ways. She got off on messing with people, and while once in awhile was acceptable, she acted like this at all times.

"Hey, guys! Early birds, huh?" I asked, waving to them, the goofy smile on my face again.

Aki waved, "Sure thing, Dai. We need to stay healthy and alert, right? Emiko thinks that since the free time month is almost over that Monotaro will be trying something very soon."

Emiko added, "He actually set up some new building last night. Surprised none of us heard it."

"A new building? Suspicious. We should investigate it immediately," I didn't like the sound of this.

Emiko nodded, "I was trying to convince Akihiko, but he refused. Said it was too dangerous. Wanted to wait for Satoshi and the others."

I stopped to think about it for a moment, "I mean, I think he has a point, but even then... I really can't let this go."

Akihiko sighed, "I figured you'd say that. Alright, let's go. I want to get back in time for breakfast."

As our little trio got up to investigate, I swore I saw Emiko sport a smile. I figured I'd imagined it. Past the stage, near the gate leading higher up the mountain was a small building, made of steel. The front doors were sealed, so we couldn't infiltrate the facility. There were no windows, no other ways inside. I heard something, or perhaps someone, on the other side.

That is when Monotaro appeared, "Ohoho! Curious about my surprise, are you?" Monotaro snapped his claws together, summoning some mannequin-like robots, circuitry popping out of their uncomfortable-looking joints, "Meet the Mono-bots! My personal army of disposable throwaways! They're here now, so try not to vandalize the building or break in. I don't want my surprise ruined."

"What surprise do you have planned for us, you fiend!?" Aki sounded like a typical manga protagonist. He was so cool and level-headed at times like these.

Monotaro shook his head, "No, this isn't for all of you! Just one! Master Kamukura asked that we make an example of the deals we could make with you guys in game, so...! Be prepared!"

This only made Aki sneer at him, "I don't know what you mean by that, but I know that I should stop you. Even if it costs me my life..."

I grabbed his arm, "No! You know better than to throw your life away! We need to get the others!" Not as level-headed as I had hoped for, apparently.

Emiko dragged the both of us away from the building. I just wanted to make myself useful, but all I did was get this feeling of despair; at the unknown, at what awaited us. Who was Monotaro going to punish? Or make a deal with?

Yoshikazu interrupted my isolation by handing me my favorite drink, a vanilla mocha, "Master Ichijou, I am concerned. Your facial expressions are indicating a great sense of worry and urgency. What did you find?"

Aki and Emiko joined my side, and I was thankful for their support, "Building is locked up. Monotaro showed up and spewed some really cryptic shit, but... Nothing useful."

Yoshikazu nodded, "Then once everyone has arrived, we can reassess the situation."

"Good thinking," Aki nodded, "I'm glad to have your aid in times like these, Kaz. Who knows where we would be without you?"

Yoshikazu nodded, a small blush on his face, "Yes, Master Tanaka."

Times like this I wanted to confess, but I knew now was neither the time nor place for something distracting like romance. Monotaro's tricks took precedence, after all.

Slowly, the people trickled in; Kenji dragged an exhausted Shinji in, and Hanako followed soon after. Takumi and Takeshi both arrived quietly and sat away from the others, while Kibou, Satoshi, and Nico sat together happily discussing trivial things. Six of us, a third of the group, never arrived. The longer time ticked by, the more nervous I became.

Satoshi eventually concluded that no one else was coming, so he started the meeting, "Where are the others? Yoshikazu. Use the general key and check their rooms." Yoshikazu nodded and made haste with his search, "General key is useful if we need to get into cottages. Only allowed for emergencies, but considering one in three of us are missing, I'd say that would suffice."

"Shinji, do you know where your girlfriends are?" Kibou asked, completely innocently.

Shinji shook his head, "Last night, Kenji and I played some game. Based on his school, or some crap," he shook his head, "I didn't see any of 'em since yesterday. I'd probably be panicking right now if I had gotten more sleep."

"That is disconcerting," Nico spoke up, "I wonder if this has anything to do with that new building that showed up."

"Exactly!" Monotaro's voice rang out, "I...extricated the six of them for our fun little game!"

Never before had I seen someone move with such agility, but Shinji charged, like a silent bull, grabbing Monotaro by the throat, "The fuck are you on about!?"

Aki grabbed Shinji and subdued him, "Calm down, man! If you hurt him, he can execute you! Remember, dumbass!?"

Shinji ceased struggling, but he glared at Monotaro with such intense hatred that I felt I could taste the tension in the air, "...Tch."

Monotaro giggled, "Playing hard to get, huh? Not with _your_ reputation! At noon, come to the new building and be prepared for my game! Upupupupupu!"

He quickly disappeared, and with that, Aki let Shinji go, "Don't go breaking in there. You'll get executed."

"But I-"

I cut him off, "If you do something rash, they might all end up paying for it! Are you trying to play like a fiddle for these bastards!?"

Shinji seemed to stiffen as I shouted at him, but he didn't say anything. He merely stood there, his face unchanging and fixed on an emotionless, gaunt expression, "..." He sharply turned and walked away, back to his cottage.

After he was out of earshot, Kenji spoke, "Knew the feminists would get their hooks in him! It's all a ploy!"

"Shut up, Kenji," Takeshi said, "This is fuckin' serious."

Satoshi interjected, "Since when did you care about our affairs!?"

Takeshi grunted, "Mind your own business. If he flies off the handle, all of us are in trouble, get it? What if Monotaro makes him kill one of us to get them back?"

Takumi nodded, "Killing to get laid. I'd do it."

Nico quickly threw another dart into Takumi's kneecap, sending him sprawling, crying in pain, "Fuck! Our group has already been torn apart!"

Emiko laughed, "It is interesting, though. I never expected for something like this to happen. I am quite curious how this will go."

"Not funny, babe," Aki commented, "This is bad. I don't even want to consider Shinji a threat, but... If Takeshi is right..."

Hanako spoke up, "I don't think he would. Shinji's not the kind of person to kill."

"Are you forgetting his little story?" Satoshi spoke out of turn, for once, "He is the most likely to kill over something like this. Perhaps we should restrict his movements."

"Satoshi! Have faith in him!" Kibou chided him, "Like he did with us!"

All of this talk of him killing worried me, so I decided to find him. I ran out from the group to his cottage and knocked, once, twice, thrice. The door slowly opened, and Shinji greeted me with a blank, lifeless stare.

"Shinji! I just, uh, wanted to see if you were alright. I know that must come as a shock to you, but..." The look he gave me terrified me, as if he was already dead inside.

Shinji stepped back, "Or they think I'll kill someone to save 'em if Monotaro asks, right? I expected him to do something like this, but all of them at once? God dammit!" Shinji punched the wall, his fist going through the first wall of plaster, hitting the steel in the center.

I tried to cheer him up, "Shinji, it's not that bad! You have people defending you! Including me. I'm here for you. Like I promised."

Shinji didn't speak for the longest time, "Do you think... Maybe if I just..." Shinji walked over and pulled something out of his back pocket. A knife, "I could..."

The bad feeling I had just intensified, "Shinji, if you're thinking of..." I quickly rushed in to grab the weapon from him, but he snatched it off of the table and backpedaled over his bed.

I turned, but he had already placed the blade back into its strap, placing it back in his pocket, "I'm not so stupid that I would jump to that conclusion. But if the only way I can save them is by killing someone..." Shinji trailed off, "I count... And I'd rather die than kill a single friend."

Shinji walked out, and I didn't know whether to follow him or not. I was just scared. Scared for Shinji, for Shinju... For everyone. And all I could do was stand by and offer support... Just like with my sister. Dammit! I hate this feeling! This feeling of powerlessness! I can't change anything! I'm just a damned disgrace! "Fuck!" I belted out, my anger swelling up.

The one solace is that I could put my trust in Shinji to try and do the right thing. I should be there for him, regardless of how I feel about myself.

After a moment to myself, I left his cottage. He was nowhere to be found. I ran back to the courtyard and discussed what had happened with them.

"He wouldn't actually kill himself to save them, right? That would be counterproductive, don't you think?" Hanako asked, but she was stuttering out of fear.

Kenji shook his head in defeat, "Damn! I tried to warn him... I don't want another friend to die!"

Takeshi rolled his eyes, "Whatever. If he offs himself, it's better for us."

Kibou stood up, offended, "How could you say that!? Do you feel any empathy!?"

"The second we got here, you were all already dead," he snorted, "Only thing left is to find out when."

"What does that mean?" Nico asked, "Are you the member of Despair!? What do you know that we don't?"

Takeshi stomped towards him, "Shut it, nerd. Before I break you like the twig you are."

"Enough!" Aki shouted, "This gets us nowhere. We need teamwork!"

Emiko chuckled, "Teamwork? Enough with that bullshit. Teamwork... Friendship... That's what got Shinji into this mess. He tried to reach out to us, and now his life is over. It's better not to get attached."

Aki turned to Emiko, stunned, "How could you say that?"

Emiko shrugged, "I'm not happy about this turn of events. But I sympathize with Takeshi; I've lost too many people to consider opening up to more people so easily," she rarely ever looked so downtrodden, "My heart can't take such pain anymore..."

Akihiko sighed, but he didn't say anything to her, likely because he couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, he put his hand on her shoulder and held her close before sending her off.

Everyone else split up after that, except for Yoshikazu, Nico, Akihiko, and myself, "So what do we do?" I asked, shocked by these developments.

Nico sighed, "I guess we have to see what Shinji and Monotaro do. I don't want to consider him an enemy... I really don't."

I nodded in agreement, "Amen to that. If only we could help him..."

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 2#**

 **-Nico B.'s POV-**

Noon came sooner than expected. I had spent the whole time in my room, since Shizue wasn't amongst us and the others were divided on how to address this new situation. I was the first to arrive at the building, excluding Shinji, who was waiting silently, leaning against the side. I decided to strike up a conversation with him, because that would statistically raise my chances of surviving the first case. #Not Gonna Die First.

"Hey, Shinji," I decided to address him in my "surprise puberty" voice, where it randomly cracked, "Are you okay?"

Shinji turned to me, a genuine smile on his face. That in and of itself disturbed me, "Well, Nico. I've made peace with myself."

"Daisuke told us about, you know, what you might do," I realized how awkward this conversation was, "I just want you to know that we'll support you. You don't have to die over this, okay?"

"Nico, you're a kind person. Good heart, intelligent thinker. Make sure you watch over them in case I can't," He brushed off my assurance like dust in the wind, destined to fall away when it mattered.

Before I could rebuke him, everyone else had arrived, and Monotaro popped out, opening the doors, "Everyone, please! Come inside!"

We all walked in, and I felt my hairs stand on end. Shinju, Shizue, Nari, Granberia, Koneko, and Mayumi were chained up to individual poles, their mouths gagged and their movements restrained. Luckily, they were still alive, since they noticed our arrival and moved, as if trying to shout to us for help.

"Welcome to the Room of Chosen Ones! Today I have a very special game for Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Romantic!" Monotaro announced. Shinji hadn't just attacked him yet, and I noticed a bunch of mannequin androids, white and black like that damned lion. They watched over us from behind the poles, as if daring us to try to save them.

"What do you want from me?" Shinji asked, stepping forward from the rest of us, hands outstretched, "My money? My life? My loyalty?"

Monotaro chuckled, "Oh, none of that, silly boy! For you see, I have become quite curious. There is something I demand to know. So I have decided to offer you this ultimatum; tomorrow at noon, you must choose one of these six. She will be set free. The other five... Well, if you remember what happened to Jun, you can figure out what I've been tasked with!"

"...What?" Shinji's brain must have stopped processing at that point.

"Did I stutter? Of course, if you don't choose... All of them will get her untimely end! But in that scenario... I'll make you watch! Their inevitable deaths! Ahaha!" Monotaro was gleefully cackling, "And if you try to save them, it will cost you and them more than you could know! Maybe an arm, a leg, who knows!?"

I decided to speak up for him, "That's cheating! The rules of the game said you can't just kill us for no reason!"

"Trying to defend this Romantic, are you? Nico, do you want to trigger your death flags!?" I stopped, wincing as I realized the implications Taro was making, "This is before the game has begun, riiiiiight? So maybe the rules won't stop me from shredding a few of you for... dramatic purposes."

I noticed a couple of turrets above us, wielding some fearsome-looking rifles. I gulped, "I uh, I see..."

"Anyways! Now that you have all been updated! Shinji, you have twenty-four hours to decide their fate! Good luuuuuck!"

With that, we were all shoved outside by his robot guards. They creeped me the fuck out.

Outside, the eleven of us were all horrified, in shock. All of us excluding Shinji, who had already wandered off somewhere.

"Where did he go?" Aki noticed he was missing quite quickly, "Damn. If he keeps running off..."

Kibou shrugged, "What did you honestly expect? This is horrible..."

"We can't let that bastard Monotaro get away with this!" Aki was charged up this time around, "We're all dead if this fucker does whatever he wishes!"

I nodded, "You have a point. This is too far, even for them. There must be some kind of trick, some loophole we can exploit or something..."

Hanako nodded, "Y-yeah, you're right! We just need to find out what it is. For Shinji, and for them."

With that, we all set out to thinking about how we could navigate this tricky new trap Monotaro had sprung.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 3#**

 **-Akihiko's POV-**

The day seemed to go by so fast, but at the same time, every second dragged itself out. Nothing eventful happened, though I did maintain some distance away from the others. Emiko's outburst earlier was wholly unexpected and I didn't have the courage to confront her about it right now. I couldn't begin to imagine what trauma she had undergone to dismiss Shinji so callously. So instead I found myself looking for Shinji. Out of everyone here, I felt what he was feeling. The loss of someone so close to you... I'd destroy Monotaro if I could, but dying wouldn't solve anything.

That's what I tried to tell myself, at least.

Eventually, I came across the small cave that Koneko had told me about. She informed me of this in case Shinji ever disappeared. Only a select few knew about it, so if he was anywhere, it might be inside the forest on the other side.

Going on through the other side, I didn't notice any sign of him, but I walked down the path anyways. I noticed he was sitting on the park bench, and slowly approached, "Shinji, you alright?"

"Must everyone insist I need my hand held?" Shinji said, placing his Vita into his back pocket, "Rather, for someone to watch over me like I'm so ill-behaved child?"

I shook my head, "Not here for that. I'm concerned for my friend. The one who showed me that I can succeed in boxing. Without killing myself. The one who inspired me to train even harder. The one who I'm worried might do something they can't take back."

Shinji scoffed, "Right. Like I'm worth the thought. All I ended up doing was get them into trouble."

"I know it seems that way, but do you really think it's just your fault? They got involved with you, too. The risks... I mean, they must have known..." I tried to counter, but he refused to hear it.

"Whose fault it is does not matter. What matters is that I save them. All of them," he wasn't compromising on that, and I knew he probably intended to attack Monotaro if he had to.

I clenched my hands into fists, "Why do you have to be so selfish!? Don't you care what your death would do to them!? They'd blame themselves! If you really wanted to save them, you'd find a way for all of you to survive! Not just expect to have to die for them!"

He chuckled at this, infuriating me even further, "You're an idealist. The world isn't that accommodating. Besides, this killing game... It's too much for me. The thought of sending people to their deaths, constantly..." he trailed off in anger, before starting back up again.

I wanted to help him, but my voice couldn't reach him now.

"Why!? Why did we get involved in this!? I already lost Jun! Takuro! Kiyo's the enemy, now! I... Why does it never end?" He collapsed onto the ground, fruitlessly punching the dirt in frustration. I wished that I could comfort him, but even I didn't know what emotional turmoil he was experiencing right now.

"You have to stay strong, Shinji! For everyone here, you can't just give up!" I refused to let him fall into despair, "Giving up won't save anyone!"

Shinji slowly returned to an upright position, glaring at me, "What do you propose I do, if you have all the answers!? You think life is some game!? That I can make whatever ending I want!? Well, here's my answer, Akihiko! I can't choose! I would never be able to! And that lion fucking knows it!"

"Surely you could try to-"

"What!? Weigh the pros and cons of each person? Hah! I'm not like that! Logic, rationality... I can't work that way! I'm not a bastard who thinks of making the best of a hopeless situation! I refuse to use their deaths as some kind of stepping stone to move on, damnit!" Shinji was unable to contain the emotions swirling inside of him anymore, and I had never seen this side to him.

What shined above the rest wasn't his rage, or his depression; it was that feeling you get when you see a person break. When they collapse unto themselves. Shinji was showing me his pain, his true feelings. And all I could do was bare witness to it...

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 4#**

 **-Hanako's POV-**

Day 30. It was eleven-thirty in the morning, and everyone was already preemptively gathered outside the building. I sat beside Kenji, who was holding me close. I could feel his heartbeat, gentle and calming. No one said a word, since Shinji hadn't arrived, and this didn't concern us as much as it did for him.

Five minutes passed... Then ten, then twenty, then the bell rang and the doors slowly creaked opened. Shinji had not yet arrived, but the rest of us all walked inside. The girls were still restrained in the same way, and it frightened me to my very core how easily Monotaro could interfere with us. It really conveyed how powerless to resist we truly were.

No, thinking like that doesn't help. I have to believe in my friends to overcome this! Shinji, please...

The eleven of us were all lined up, and Monotaro jumped down from his perch. He had those creepy robots with him, too, "Isn't there one short? Where is our star!? Did he run away in fear!?"

Takeshi snorted, "Too afraid to show up to his own funeral. Figures."

Takumi spoke up, "Give him a break already! You don't even begin to consider how others feel, do you!?"

"Oh, am I getting lectured by the Ultimate Fuckboy?" Takeshi rebuked him, but he didn't stand down.

Takumi refused to relent, "No, you are getting lectured by his friend! Stop talking shit and grow a heart, asshole! Do you think that just because everyone you love dies means everyone else has to feel the same way!?"

"You-!"

"Yeah, I know the stories. Takeshi, the legendary survivor. Everyone around him dies! So he became a selfish prick to push people away! Stop acting like a badass! You're not convincing anyone!" Takumi was strangely getting motivated to argue with him.

"Enough!" Satoshi chimed out, "If by chance, Shinji did attempt to flee, what does that mean for us? And for them?" Satoshi motioned to the six captives.

Before Monotaro could open his mouth and give us less of a reason to want to wake up in the morning, the doors opened behind us. Shinji stepped inside, wearing a black jacket over a blue and green blazer, probably his old school uniform. What stood out to me was the ring on his finger, shining in the light.

"There he is! I knew he wouldn't hide from us forever!" Monotaro announced it, as if we had ever expected less from him. I knew Shinji would try to do the right thing.

Shinji trudged past all of us, staring down his opponents, "Hide from you? No. I couldn't do that. Not while you still breathe." he thought about it for a moment, "Metaphorically, of course. You stuffed animal bastard!"

Monotaro chuckled, as if Shinji's anger fueled him to annoy us at even greater heights, "So, who did you choose, Shinji!? We're all curious. Now's the time to be decisive!"

"I suppose so..." Shinji stepped forward, once more, sliding into a different stance, "You must know by now what I have chosen."

"If you fight, you will die," Monotaro shot back, "If you would simply choose one of them, we could end this amicably! No one has to die! Well, except for those you don't choose, but hey!"

Shinji merely laughed, manically, even, "You think that would stop me!? You stupid toy! I demand you let them go! All of them! Now!"

Monotaro laughed, "You want to give _me_ an ultimatum!? Hah!"

Shinji merely grinned, "So the cocky little headmaster is scared of me!?"

Monotaro grimaced at that, "You want to play around? Fine," He snapped his claws once more, and the Mono-bots surrounded Shinji, "Survive this and maybe I'll hear you out."

The robots swung out at Shinji, smacking him hard with their metallic arms. He grabbed one of their arms and pulled, ripping it out of its socket. Using the arm as a weapon, Shinji went to battle, fighting the six robots with no holding back.

Mono-bot 2# fought viciously now that one arm was gone, winding up and swirling towards Shinji at a breakneck pace. He placed the arm diagonally to turn it off balance before delivering a hard blow to the machine's core body.

Watching Shinji fight back was impressive. With one hard blow, he decapitated one of the robots, sending it to the ground in pieces. Monotaro watched by, passively. That isn't to say he didn't care; Shinji was suffering wounds as well, including a sharp blow to his right leg. The snap clearly rang out, probably indicating his leg was broken or sprained.

He refused to hesitate, refused to back down, to surrender. One by one, he broke his opponents. As the sixth one fell, Shinji was covered in cuts, scratches, and bruises. He was bleeding from multiple wounds, but he didn't give in. I guess for him, he couldn't.

"Hohoho, interesting. You performed better than expected," Monotaro laughed, "Now what is in store?"

Shinji tried his best not to fall over, stumbling forward, "Let them...go..."

Monotaro grinned that same evil grin, and a shot rang out. Shinji collapsed to the floor, a single scream ringing out from his throat. Blood splattered where he had been hit, and we realized that the rifle turret to the right had fired upon him, "Didn't I say what this would cost you?"

Shinji rolled over, having been blasted directly in his elbow. The way the rest of his arm was dangling, we all knew how brutally it had been torn apart. Shinji was in the throes of severe pain, unable to contain the painful screams that forced their way into the air.

I wanted to rush to his side to help him, but Aki motioned for us to stay back, lest Monotaro open fire on us. Instead, we had to listen to him make jokes, "Awww, done already? I was just getting started... Well, what can you do?" Monotaro walked over to Shinji, bemused by his suffering, "Any words of wisdom for m-"

Monotaro was silenced when Shinji moved forward, striking him with his knife. The knife went deep into Monotaro's chest. Shinji kicked him aside with his right leg, flinging him to the back of the building. The damned animal exploded, the bomb inside it going off on a delay.

"Did you just...!?" Aki was shocked at what had happened. None of us could process what just happened. All we knew was that it was something to be celebrated. Or so we thought.

Another shot rang out, piercing Shinji right in the knee of his extended leg. As he began howling in pain, a new enemy emerged; a bear, black and white. That sinister red eye glowed as if to remind us what we had gotten ourselves into. We knew its name already; Monokuma.

"Ah, what a grand entrance, right!? I knew exactly how Shinji'd act, so I set Monotaro up for failure! I didn't think he would actually destroy that shoddy replacement they made! Cost him an arm and a leg, though. Shame he was an only child," Monokuma laughed, and his voice instilled in us more fear than Monotaro ever had.

"You mean..." Nico trailed off, trying to discern meaning in this bear's cryptic words.

Monokuma laughed uproariously, "Why, it wouldn't be a killing game without its mascot, now would it!? Some lame lion could never compare to moi! How absurd!"

Satoshi stepped towards the bear, "So are you going to explain this or not!?"

Monokuma nodded, "Right on it! Izuru mentioned he intended to give you an example, remember? We didn't know what we were going to do, but someone came to Monotaro for help! They asked Monotaro to try and find something out for her, and that took us here!"

"Someone came to you!? Bullshit!" Takeshi stood up, "No way would anyone work with some psycho like you guys!"

The bear only nodded, "Really?"

Behind him, a screen appeared, and it played a video.

What we saw horrified us.

Shinju was outside in the courtyard in the dead of night. She looked around, as if to spot anyone outside, before calling out, "Monotaro! Where are you!?"

Monotaro appeared soon afterwards, talking excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes!? Did you come to confess your love, perchance!?"

She shook her head, "Shut up and listen. There's something I really would like to know, but I can't get that info on my own."

"Ohh, I see. Is this about Shinji's favorite?" Shinju winced, "Ah, right on the money! Well, I suppose there is something I could do to answer this question for you... But I ask; why should I do this for you?"

Shinju sighed, "Anything short of killing someone, I'll do it. The others might not care, but the answer means a lot to me..." she looked away, as if already regretting her request.

Monotaro nodded, "I see. Let me ask my superiors what I am allowed to do for you. I have an idea, though..."

The scene cut away, and Monokuma nodded, "See, see!? Taro wasn't acting out of command; he was doing as requested! Of course; the deals we intend to make from here on out include murder, but this example works well! It caused lots of despair!"

Monokuma walked over to Shinji, who had stopped screaming, "...You..."

Monokuma snapped his fingers, and several Mono-bots appeared. They quickly unchained the six girls, who fell to the floor out of exhaustion, "They are free to go. Shinji, you're coming with me for medical attention. Maybe these wounds will remind you of the cost of friendship..."

With that, Monokuma hauled Shinji off, who looked broken in body and spirit. The rest of us rushed forward. Nico helped Shizue, while Akihiko and Daisuke attended to Nari. Mayumi managed to get up by herself, though Kenji and I helped her out. Koneko and Granberia were in turn supported by a surprisingly helpful Takumi and Yoshikazu.

The others had already left, and only Shinju remained. No one particularly wanted to help her, but I decided if no one else was going to offer, I would. Kibou must have thought the same thing, because we both walked over to help her, "Shinju, we've got you."

Shinju pushed our hands away, "I..." She had tear stains on her face, and we couldn't tell if she was more depressed or frightened, "..." she coughed a bit, allowing us to grab her and hoist her up.

She didn't say anything, but we carried her back to her cottage. We wanted to ask about the video Monokuma presented to us, but we decided it would be best to rest first.

I was just glad that no one had died. That was what gave me the strength to move forward.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 **Free Time Event 5#**

 **-Koneko's POV-**

Later that night, Shinji was dropped off at his cottage. He must have been, since the lights were on inside. Nothing else happened that night, and the final day without death came to a close.

The first day of the Killing Resort Life began. Seventeen of us all gathered at the courtyard, where Yoshikazu proudly served up his meals. None of us spoke; some of us were still shaken up by the nightmares we had seen yesterday. What happened to Shinji... He went through all of that for us, and I couldn't help him. I felt so guilty, but I knew letting it get me down wouldn't do anything. I couldn't give up now.

Shinji arrived last. Unlike before, he didn't say anything to any of us. His left arm was bandaged up, shown by his short-sleeve shirt. His right leg was done similarly, with short cut jeans. He didn't look at any of us, and that ring he wore, the ones I had seen in his room earlier, was still on his person, making itself known when it reflected the sunlight.

He walked past us, not even glancing in our direction. The bell rang out, announcing that it was 7 AM. He slumped down in a chair.

"Shinji?" Daisuke asked, walking towards him, "Did you get some sleep? Do you feel better?"

Shinji turned to him, "Certainly, Daisuke. I got a great night's rest. The pain meds really knocked me out."

"Are you being sarcasti-" Akihiko tried to ask.

"Of course I'm being sarcastic!" He shouted out at him, "Just leave me alone!"

With that, everyone else begrudgingly abided his request and went their own way. I decided to check on him myself, knowing how he might react, "Shinji...?"

I walked over and sat next to him, "Are you okay?"

Shinji held me close, clutching me tightly, rubbing my tail. I couldn't stop myself from purring contentedly, "I...I'll be fine, Koneko. I just need some time today. Stay away from some of the others. I wouldn't mind if you were by my side, of course."

"Shinji..." I wiped the tears out of his eyes, "It's alright. I won't let them hurt you anymore."

"I never cared about that! I... I put you in danger, and I..." Shinji just rested his head on my shoulder and tried to control his sobbing. I patted him and rested on the bench with him, hoping that expressing all of these pent-up emotions would make him feel better.

Nari, Granberia, Shizue, and Mayu soon joined us in comforting him, and we all decided to spend the day with him to ensure he was feeling better. As we walked him back to his cabin, we noticed someone waiting for us.

I walked up ahead of the others, "Shinju, hey. Is there somethin' you need from us?" She didn't answer me, that defeated expression on her face, "Look, we're not mad. We know why you did what you did; there's no way you could have known what would have happened."

"Doesn't make it better," Mayu argued, "I'm forgiving you, but... Something so reckless, so selfish! Don't you think!?"

Shinju sniffled, but she didn't back down, walking in between the two of them towards Shinji, "Shinji... I..."

Shinji looked up at her, not showing any sign of emotion, "What do you want?" The way he said "you" sounded very antagonistic, almost accusatory, "Another limb, perhaps?"

Granberia pulled on Shinji's shirt, "You know she never wanted that. Go easy on her. If you say something, you might regret it later..."

Shinju reached out, placing her hand on Shinji's cheek, "Shinji, I never..." She was overflowing with tears, barely able to see beyond the water trickling down her cheeks, "I... Please, f-forgive m-me! I never wanted Monotaro to do that to you! To any of us!"

Shinji nodded, "I know." He brushed her hand off, "...You refuse to trust me. To believe in me. You endanger everybody else's lives for your own selfish desires! You refuse to be second, but you refuse to tie. So if you want an answer so decisive that it will always ring true, then here; I'm not sure if you were ever worth loving."

I gasped, and I noticed the others did too. Shinji may have gotten angry, but this was a wholly different beast, "Y-you..."

"That doesn't stop me from loving you. Even now, it aches my heart to say this to you... But I have to. If being in a relationship with me requires you to go to such lengths to prove your own superiority, then fine," He spat to the ground, "I'll give you what you want. I'll remain alone, as I always have."

"What!?" Mayu exclaimed, "You can't be serious!"

He merely shook his head, "This has caused too many problems. I can't be a part of this anymore..." he wrestled out of our grasp and walked off, solemnly. The rest of us just looked at each other, unsure what to do. Shinji had finally learned to choose, and he had decided to walk a lonely road.

 _ **Hope Fragment Get!**_

 _ **Despair Fragment Get!**_

 **Skill Unlocked: Heaven or Hell-Makes it easier to consent with characters who have max affinity with the player character, and harder to argue, debate, or Panic Talk Action with those same characters.**

 **1/6 Despair Fragments Acquired!**

 **Final Hope Fragment Acquired!**

 **Let the games begin! Upupupupu!**


	20. Chapter One Daily Life

Author's Note: Progress? What is this strange and mysterious thing!? expect the next chapter to come faster. College started up again so this one was a bit more of a struggle. Proud to present it and all its existence to everyone. :3

 ** _Chapter One: Doting Detective, Secret Slayer  
-Daily Life_**

It was hard to believe that only thirty-one days had gone by since we had been captured and forced into this resort. For some reason, it felt like both a lifetime and only a minute. The crushing weight of the reality we found ourselves in finally caved in on us all.

Thanks to the... incident from earlier, we were all now made startlingly aware of our own mortality, and how quickly our captors would dispose of us if we broke the rules or attempted to riot our way out of here. Even after the emergency healing they put me through, I still winced in pain every time I bent my arm or leg too quickly. I was lucky they worked at all after what that damn lion did.

Today, Satoshi had called for a new strategy meeting to better confront the situation facing us. More than likely, he wanted to try and repair the patches in our group; it was a just cause, though one doomed to fail. I no longer cared about group unity or helping the others. To think Takeshi would be right; trusting people only caused pain.

Is that what I really think? No, maybe not. The truth was that Shinju's betrayal ate away at me, every waking moment. I had believed in her, all of them, faithfully. Shouldn't I? But that faith was torn asunder...

Here I was, sitting alone in my cottage, pushing people away so I could suffer in silence. It was like this with Jun, too. After I got released from the hospital, Takuro and Kiyo tried to support me. And all I did was hide from them. Even after all this time, I still hadn't learned.

I was listless on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep called me, and the bed was comfortable enough. My brain just refused to shut down. Since I had yet to leave my room all day, someone could be dead for all I really know. The thought that anyone I care about could be dead tomorrow was the most painful part of my self-imposed isolation.

Could I keep this up? Locking myself up might be beneficial in some ways, but if someone needs me and I'm not there... No! If you leave... You'll only cause problems. Right?

I thought back to Makoto. How did he survive? His first love interest tried to frame him for murder, and that was the high point of that game. How was he so strong? Was it the ahoge? Hell if I knew.

...I can't do this anymore! I need a drink. Thinking that, I unlocked my cottage door and stepped out, walking to the cafe. What's the worst that could happen? I get stabbed to death? Oh, nooooo...

I walked inside and noticed it hadn't been used today. Seems reasonable. Who could go for coffee when a murder could happen, right? I shook that thought out of my mind, "Stop thinkin' like that."

"Like what?" I squealed like a girl and turned around only to see a smiling Emiko looking at me like I was some kind of exotic animal, "Didn't mean to scare you, Shinji. I just saw you come out of your cottage and was wonderin' what you were planning to do at four in the morning."

I brushed her off, grabbing the fridge door and grabbing myself some chocolate milk. After removing the cap and sniffing it for abnormal smells, I shrugged, "Retrieving a drink."

Emiko nodded, "Figured. You have to remember, I studied you guys in detail. I know you weren't going to murder someone."

"Then why bother with me?" I didn't want to have a conversation right now. She could tell by my brusque attitude.

Emiko moved her hair out of her face, "Come now, Shinji. I may have some sadistic streaks in me, but I really do care for you and Nari. I never thought I would see her so dispirited. She hasn't been able to talk to Shinju, probably out of pride. And when you sent everyone off... It really hurt her."

I winced. I didn't want that, but I believed at the time that it was inevitable, "It's best if they forget me. Move on with their lives. Get out of here and find someone who deserves them."

Emiko placed her hand on my shoulder, "... You really love them, don't you?"

I removed her hand, "I plead the fifth."

"Immediately guilty," Emiko shot back, "Only criminals plead that."

"First off, we're not Americans. Second off, I _am_ a lowly criminal. Third," I moved past her, "...Why do you even bother with me?"

Emiko scurried to obscure my path, "Here to talk to you, idiot. I want you to fix this."

"I've no idea what you're on about," I tried to shut her out, but she was stubborn.

"You know exactly what I am on about," she poked me on the nose, "I want you to make up with the others. _All_ of them."

Rolling my eyes, I continued trying to maneuver to get around her, "Yeah, right. 'Oh, it's fine that you nearly got a bunch of people that mean the world to me, including yourself, killed or worse! That's just what lovers do!' What she did was selfish and disgraceful! What she did was...was..."

Emiko slapped me, "What she did was due to her lack of self-esteem. So it was misguided! You know why she did it!" I rubbed my cheek and glared at her, "Don't give me that look, young man. Even if you want to stay uninvolved, you should know by now that isn't feasible anymore!"

"No..." her hand moved, but I caught it this time, "I mean it. Now leave me alone..." I let go and ducked under her second attack, and walked back to my cabin, not wanting to cause a stir. I assumed she was going to attack a third time, but instead she gave a defeated sigh and let me go.

Or so I thought. Right as I reached my cottage door, I felt her yank on the bottom of my shirt, a last act of desperation? I turned, "Seriously, what now?"

What I never expected to see in my life was a teary-eyed Emiko, struggling not to cry in front of me, "Shinji...P-please... Nari's all I have. I don't like seeing her this way! Please!" she then hit me, once, twice with her fists, though she was unable to garner any strength in either strike, "I'll never forgive you if you don't!"

 _No. If you back down now, how long will it be until you're everybody's tool? Don't you want them to do better? They are stronger than this, right!? It's not your problem, Shinji..._

"Fine..." I reluctantly decided, "Tomorrow I will speak to her and the others. But absolutely no promises, understood? I'm not doing romance here any more."

"You say that now," Emiko grinned, wiping a tear out of her right eye, "But how long will you be able to resist loving them?"

I grimaced and opened my cottage door, closing it slowly behind me. Damn it all...

After downing my drink, I quickly fell into the land of dreams. I didn't have nightmares for once, and so I was thankful for that. It was an improvement compared to the last few days, where I could barely contain my depression. Thanks to Yoshikazu, I managed to keep up on my doses. Satoshi and I were very thankful over his constant support, and I figured I'd thank him personally tomorrow.

I was awoken by something so horrible, so annoying, that it still haunted me hours after the fact. That damned bear woke me up with an annoying chime.

Ding dong, bing bong!

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma was on the monitor outside my room, clearly visible from the window, "Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

Is he going to do that every morning and night from now on? Dear God, maybe dying wouldn't be so bad...

If he was trying to demoralize us by being endlessly annoying, he certainly had enough experience to know what got under our skin. Reluctantly, I got up and donned my clothes. Still a bit groggy, I rubbed my eyes to attempt to force myself to wake up faster and stepped outside.

Daisuke noticed me and waved, "Shinji, bro! You're alright!" he walked over to me, patting me on the back, "Thought you'd all but abandoned us! I knew I shouldn't have thought like that..."

I chuckled awkwardly, "Yeah, there's no way I would do that. I just needed, well, a break, you know? Some time alone to think."

Daisuke nodded, "Ah, I see. I guess I could see it. No problem, then. Satoshi wanted us to all gather for breakfast today, so it's good you chose to get out for now."

"That's why I'm here, actually," I admitted, "Otherwise, I would have just slept in. More of a night person, really."

Daisuke laughed at this before walking alongside me towards the courtyard. Some of the others quickly waved to me, while others just ignored my presence, "Hey, everyone."

Takeshi scoffed, "What, decided to rejoin the living? We were doin' fine without you, douchebag."

"Come on, Takeshi. There's no need to be rude," Kibou scolded him, "Can't you ever be nice?"

"Not really," Takeshi wasn't sounding very certain about that, "Then again, does it really matter?"

Nico decided to move the conversation forward, trying to ignore Takeshi's vitriolic nature, "Whatever, man. It's nice to see you join us. Things just haven't been the same without you."

I nodded, "Someone made a good argument for me not to lock myself up. I guess I was just scared, ahaha. I'm not some special person or anything, so it's no surprise I would..." I trailed off, after making myself sad.

Satoshi stepped into the center of our group, "Glad to see that you're here, regardless. Yoshikazu, when you're done distributing the food, we can begin."

Yoshikazu acknowledged his request, "Understood, Master Hondo." He quickly began delivering the food he had worked on for us all.

"Aren't we like, worried at all that he might poison our food and kill us all?" Takeshi decided to ruin the mood with his accusations, "Be an easy way to off us all."

"What good would that do?" Kenji fought back, "If any of us died of food poisoning, it would trace back to him immediately! Do you ever use that brain of yours?"

Takeshi sneered, "More than you ever have." Kenji rolled his eyes, disregarding his insults, "What if someone else poisoned his food to frame him?"

Yoshikazu delivered Takeshi his food with a displeased look, "I was trained to be able to detect oddities in the food, based on taste, smell, or other irregularities. I can assure you that no one will die of food poisoning on my watch."

"What the fuck ever," Takeshi dismissed his assurances, "I play by my own rules."

While Takeshi and Kenji continued to bicker back and forth, I sat alone at the smallest picnic table away from the others. I wasn't excited to rejoin this group, considering how dysfunctional we had become in the last few days. I thought that I'd gotten closer to everyone, and understood them all better. Apparently, I was wrong. That feeling of powerlessness I had experienced when Monotaro first appeared was back, and stronger. It was a malicious, malevolent force, constantly putting pressure on my whole body.

I was shocked out of my stupor by Granberia, who sat next to me, fearlessly ignoring my quizzical expression. When I realized she was refusing to compromise, I surrendered. Yoshikazu delivered my breakfast and I silently thanked him, but I was definitely not in the mood for eating.

A few minutes passed, and eventually Satoshi began his discussion, trying to ease our tensions and redirect our efforts, "Now that everyone's settled in, we need to reopen our discussion on the situation we have found ourselves in. First off, I'd like to assume the position as our leader. We need a strong, central command. Unless there is anyone else who would desire this position?" No one spoke.

"I think that is unanimous; Satoshi should be our director," Nico admitted, "He's got more experience than the rest of us with leading groups."

Daisuke acknowledge him as well, "Agreed, he's shown a lot of initiative. His diligence should be rewarded, should it not?"

"I was hopin' I'd have a shot, but with all that goes into it," Akihiko joined in as well, "I see now that I wouldn't have enough time for everything."

Emiko patted him on the shoulder, "You're busy enough training, Aki. I barely get to see you as it is."

Aki blushed as he pulled her closer for a tight hug, "Yeah, I know."

Satoshi thanked Nico before continuing, "We have been trying to establish some rules. First off, we don't want anyone to wander around after the night hours. No exceptions; it's too dangerous, and the damage to our psyche worrying if someone wanders outside our cottages at night is too much to bear."

Takeshi grunted, but he didn't offer any objections beyond that, agreeing with the silent majority.

"Fair's fair, right?" Takumi asked, "But are bathroom breaks allowed?"

Satoshi sighed, "My recommendation is to hold it or go before ten. There will be no exceptions, and anyone caught breaking these rules will be dealt with by the group's decision. I wouldn't want to restrain anyone from certain privileges, but I will enforce these rules."

"Same here," Akihiko added, "We need structure now that the game has started. Otherwise, we'll be scattered, easier targets for them to manipulate."

"Alright. What else?" Kenji asked, almost as if he was rushing us along.

Yoshikazu stepped up to announce something himself, "In addition to Satoshi's rulings, I have crafted the schedule for laundry. Every two days at 5:30 PM, I will gather everything from the hampers and clean it. I will hand deliver all of the washed articles after sorting them out the following day at 9 PM so as to avoid burdening myself too much. Remember this if you get any clothes dirty, otherwise you must wait for the next cycle. This is to further limit people from wandering around at night."

"That's handy," Kibou nodded, "I'm glad we have someone so supportive amongst us."

Yoshikazu nodded, a faint redness lighting his cheeks, "It is a butler's duty."

"Next, we have some other suggestions," Satoshi spoke up, "This includes not wandering in less than groups of two or three. I have also added sign in sheets to most of the buildings in the resort. Signing in is mandatory. Failure to do so will result in punishment."

Kenji grimaced, "Gah, too many rules. Did Kibou put you up to this? The conspiracy is growing!"

Kibou shook her head, "Conspiracy? What do you mean?"

"Don't think I am blind to what is happening! Clearly, you are manipulating Satoshi for your agenda!" Kenji accused her while pointing at Satoshi, "You are but a mere pawn in her game!"

Satoshi let out an exasperated sigh, disappointed, "Believe what you will. But if you break these rules, you will be punished accordingly."

Hanako grabbed Kenji by his arm, "Kenji, please. No getting into trouble..."

Kenji blushed and readjusted his glasses, "Very well. Only because you asked."

"Aww, they're so cute together!" Koneko commented, waving her tail about behind her.

Kenji folded his arms and crossed them, "I have no idea what you mean." Hanako giggled at Kenji's attempt at maintaining composure, causing him to lose it by rebuking her, "It's preposterous to assume that I, a man with no soul, could ever fall in love with a mortal!"

Takumi butted in, "You're not ginger, though."

Shizue shot daggers at him with her fierce eyes, "That was rude."

Takumi shrugged, "Eh, so sue me for having taste..."

"Enough squabbling. That is all I wished to speak of today, though if anyone has any questions, now would be an excellent time to ask them," Satoshi offered.

Nico raised his hand, speaking in a very deep voice, "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you. Privately, though."

"Hah. Gay!" Takumi annoyed us with his poor joke.

Satoshi nodded, ignoring Takumi entirely, "Certainly, Nico. Kibou, Yoshikazu, and I will love to hear you out."

Mayu raised her hand, "Are we allowed to carry around things for self-defense?" Mayu motioned towards her kendo sword, which she carried with her almost everywhere since we arrived here.

"So long as it isn't primarily lethal, I see no problem with that," Satoshi admitted, "Carrying around heavy weaponry, though, is strictly forbidden."

"I hope no one's dumb enough to attack me," Koneko brandished her claws, as an attempt to intimidate any would-be Blackened, "Shinji can attest how sharp these are."

I scratched my head, "Well, yeah..."

Satoshi coughed to regain our attention before asking, "Any other questions? No? Then you are all dismissed. Nico, Yoshikazu, and Kibou; meet me down by the arcade."

Satoshi and the three others walked off, leaving fourteen of us. Takeshi quickly grabbed his food and marched off to his cottage, not paying us any attention. Takumi, Daisuke, and Akihiko grouped up and headed towards the gym, while Kenji and Hanako left holding hands.

That left just Emiko, the girls, and myself.

I was dreading this moment, but I had to address the elephant in the room. Before I did anything else, I stood up and walked over to Shinju, Granberia following me every step of the way, "Do you have to stalk me?"

Granberia didn't respond quickly, thinking on what to say, "Not stalking. Shadowing. Totally different."

"It totally isn't. ... Fine, do what you will," Granberia smiled triumphantly as I gave in to her demands.

"Glad you see things from my perspective." She was reveling in this, wasn't she?

Shinju had seated herself the furthest away from everyone else, and it was clear she was still really broken up about what had happened yesterday.

"Shinju? Can I talk to you for a moment?" I noticed that Mayu, Koneko, Shizue, Nari, and Emiko had all gathered around us, "Damn it, Granberia. Warn me when people creep up on us!"

Granberia shrugged, as if it wasn't her issue, "Not my job."

"Now we have a crowd around us!" I exclaimed, nervous about being so closely watched.

"Sounds like a personal problem," Granberia joked, "It's fine, Shinji."

I turned back to Shinju, who was finally giving me her attention, "..." she didn't say anything, and the silence was rather eerie.

I sat down on the bench and looked her in the eyes, "Shinju, I... I'm a dumbass, alright? What I said... I got angry, alright? I didn't mean it."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you telling me this? I deserve to be hated... I..." Shinju broke down into tears again.

I pulled her close to me and let her cry into my chest, "No, you don't. That's enough self-loathing..." I glared at Nari, "Hey. Forgive her."

Nari seemed to be offended that I would suggest such a thing, "She almost got m-"

"Shut the hell up and forgive her," I cut her off, "I didn't stutter." I softened my expression, "I know you're upset, Nari, I really do. Of all people, we should be. But what's the point in holding it against her?"

Mayu wholeheartedly agreed with me, "Forgiveness is a virtue, Nari. I understand your concerns, but certainly you care about her enough to mend the gaps?"

"Nari, please? For me, too?" Emiko demonstrated an unexpected act of humility, "Shinju's one of my first friends other than you, and it hurts to see you two fight..."

Nari accepted that we wouldn't budge on this, and she folded her arms and acted grumpy when she said, "...Fine. I'm not all that mad; it just terrified me. I know she didn't mean us any harm..." she patted Shinju on the head, "So cheer up, huh? I don't remember my girlfriend being so sulky."

Granberia put a hand on my shoulder, "You did good, Shinji. I know it's hard to forgive things like that. It's healthy for you, though."

I decided to take a stand, "Oh, I'm forgiving her. But I want to make it clear that I'm still not dating any of you. I stand by that decision."

Emiko quickly tried to argue with me, "You promised m-"

"I promised to forgive Shinju. I promised to get out of my cottage and spend time with everyone. I never promised to give my heart away again," I reminded her, "Now is neither the time nor place, nor situation."

Koneko chuckled, "Yeah, like that'll last. You know you love us..." She dragged her tail across my face, her ears perking up.

I groaned in annoyance. Normally, I would give up, but this time I refused, "Yes, I do. But this will last. I refuse to give in. All that will do is cause you girls issues."

Shinju finally stopped crying, and I patted her head as I stood up, "If any of you wish to spend time with me, you may do so. Just know that I will not give into temptations. No exceptions." Shinju for once didn't object to me making my own decisions. She was really shaken up, huh?

Shizue grabbed me from behind and whispered into my ear, "But Yuki~!"

I slipped out of her grasp and took a couple of steps back, defensively, "None of that! I'm serious about not giving in! I have more self-restraint than you think."

"We'll see about that..." Emiko joked, mischievously.

The rest of the day, I knew I'd have to fend myself from any of their attempts to tempt me.

Promising to spend time with Mayu and Nari later in the day, Koneko led me to the forest to take a leisurely walk. She implored me that she meant no harm; she just wanted my company.

"The morning air smells good," Koneko commented when we arrived outside the cave. There were birds singing, and the forest was just as pristine as when we had left it. The destruction of the natural world had clearly been limited on this island, and it really was breathtaking.

I concurred, "Nice to get out, I guess. I rarely ever left my house back in the day."

Koneko decided to tease me like always, "Ooh, some backstory. How rare for you to talk about the past..."

"I was a kid once, too, you know?" I shot back, "Back before the world was a dark place. When everything happened for a reason and nobody had to suffer injustice. Hell, I wanted to be some kind of... hero when I was younger."

"Really? You know heroes have to get out a lot, right?" Koneko was tiptoeing towards the forest now, keeping watch so I wouldn't fall too far behind or get distracted.

Cheeky girl, "I know that. Back then, I wanted to help people, play the good guy. That kind of stuff."

Koneko stopped moving forwards and glanced back at me, "So Nari was right? You do like playing the Hero, hm? It's kinda sad, though. You ended up being more like a fake Hero, huh? Fake Hero Shinji!" she giggled, amusing herself with my offended glare.

"Saving people... No. Nothing so noble..." I trailed off, reflecting on my child self, "I wasn't a crazy altruist or anything. Even back then, I knew people would always need saving. The world would always have bad guys. Otherwise, I'd have to retire, move to Florida, grow old, and die."

"You could become Florida Man..." Koneko joked, "Be on newspaper headlines all the time."

I chuckled at that joke. Oh God, but Florida had problems. Seriously.

Koneko walked up to me, asking in her blunt tone, "So why? What made Shinji want to become the Fake Hero he is now?"

I wasn't embarrassed about this anymore, "You know, when Jun asked, I was reluctant to say. I never told her, really. ...I just wanted some friends."

"...Really?"

"I mean, look at all those shows. Z Fighters or magical girls or rebel factions. Heroes usually have an entire posse of friends to spend time with. A gaggle of incredible, if not insane, coworkers or allies to fight alongside," I admitted, "I always thought of how fun that would be."

Koneko smiled ever so gently at me, "...Yes. That sounds like the Shinji I know."

Just like that, we talked back and forth about casual things. I even told stories about how stupid I could be as a child. We did dangerous things unknowingly, huh?

After saying goodnight to Koneko, who went to bed early due to her primarily nocturnal schedule, I eventually got roped into playing a game with Nari and Mayu. Nari was ecstatic to let Mayu into her insidious world, and I knew I couldn't let Mayu go in alone.

Inside of her room, I sat on the floor while Mayu and Nari shared a couple of chairs in front of her personal computer, where Nari excitedly began looking through her vast files of games she had downloaded. Some of those titles, man. Wow.

I'd list a few here to let people know how insane it was, but... I was afraid of what might turn up if anyone google searched this shit, so nope.

Needless to say, I was not ready for what Nari decided to start with.

Mayu said something that very quickly got my attention, "What are those, Nari?"

"Oh, just tentacles. Censorship laws are bullshit, right? So they cheat with these!" Nari explained.

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. No. She wouldn't!

The sounds coming from her speakers ended any debate on that. Oh no... What was she playing, Another Episode?

I was thrilled to return to my room and lock the door behind me, trying not to remember what I had just witnessed. Instead, I turned to my own internal monologue for some relief. Plus, I was glad to get away from the girls. It's hard to detach yourself from others.

There were a couple of times when I thought; Just love them. Refusing their affection will only make it worse if they die. But I refused to think like such a pessimist; just hold out and everything will be fine. The less drama, the better.

The truth was that I felt as if I was going to die; I would, truth be told, be an easy target due to my trusting nature and my lack of skills. I wasn't terribly useful like some of the others, so me getting killed seemed like a likely possibility. I just wanted them to live through this, no matter what happened to me.

Making up with Shinju felt, right, though. This is what I thought when a familiar sound played.

Ding dong, bing bong.

"Ahem, Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make... It is now 10:00 PM. Nighttime can be confusing... If you're out at night and accidentally meet a killer, then it sucks to be you! This is why it is imperative you sleep inside your cottages provided to you by your kind headmaster! Make sure to lock your doors, though. Blood stains can be tricky to remove from bed sheets, you know? Puhuhu! Buh-bye!"

Ominous as always, aren't you, Monokuma? He was way more annoying than the documents we had found suggested. With that, I went to bed.

 **Monokuma Theater 1#**

Falling from the sky, a background of cheering Monokumas appear before a stage, as the curtains open to reveal another Monokuma taking the stage, "Ahem! To those of you that intend to purchase Danganronpa V3, thank you. To those of you who are wondering if it's worth buying or not; consider the following! I am Monokuma! That means I know where you live! What a shame it would be if you had an accident or ten, right? It's been awhile since the main story started, so I have a message for everyone who has kept around until now. From now on, I promise you'll be charmed by this world! It genuinely deserves to be called a true killing game! So make sure you get excited and immerse yourself in the action to your heart's content! Now then, until the very end, please enjoy this game to the end!" The curtains close.

Ding dong, bing bong.

"Ahem, Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make... Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is going to be another beautiful day! Now then, let's show some enthusiasm and be sure to give it our all today!" The monitor cut off, and I thanked my lucky stars that his morning speeches weren't any longer.

I was definitely in a bad mood after that. I stepped outside of my cottage, not eagerly, mind you.

I stepped outside, only to be greeted by Kenji, "Shinji! Where have you been, soldier!? Fighting the feminist conspiracy is significantly harder without backup, don't you know!?"

"Kenji, I literally just woke up. I'm too tired for this..." I tried to brush him off.

"That's just the venom those girls are spouting talking! You are not getting out of your patrol duty today, private! We have a lot of information to work through, a lot of ground to cover! I fear one of the girls is planning to murder one of us!" Kenji spoke rapidly, as if barely able to contain himself any longer. He must have been lonely without me, huh?

I sighed, "Fine, fine. Day Three, whatever. Just stop yelling so loudly."

"Hey," Granberia tried to get our attention.

Kenji, of course, reacted like you'd expect, "Ahhhh! A spy! I should have known the thief would infiltrate our conversation! Back, wench! I know taijutsu!"

"Can you stop embarrassing us both?" Kenji wasn't a bad person, but he came off as blunt and unhinged at times like this, "What is it, Granberry?"

Granberia poked my chest, "Satoshi wants us to meet regularly in the mornings for breakfast. Since you two are late, I came to get you."

Kenji sighed, "No! The girls are entrenched deeper into our lines than I thought! Shinji, we must flee as of now!"

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Kenji by the scruff of his shirt, "Calm down and come with. Freaking out won't help you." I let him go quickly so as not to pull his shirt too hard.

Kenji fixed his glasses back into place before agreeing, "Fine, fine. But we must make haste; I demand that we continue our operations later."

Granberia walked off, leading us to the courtyard. Kenji and I followed suit, taking seats next to each other towards the back.

Satoshi waved to the two of us when we arrived before speaking, "Our first daily meeting has begun. Now, the agenda asks that we discuss any newly discovered information. Tragically, nothing has come up since Shizue discovered those files in the library's attic."

"Not the only thing discovered there," Emiko added, giving Nari a sly smile.

Nari elbows her in the chest roughly, "Shut it!"

Akihiko stepped in, "Seriously? Get along, guys." He shrugged when they continued bickering.

Nico attempted to move the conversation forward, "You were saying, Satoshi?"

"Thank you, Nico. I am very pleased that you have taken a supportive role in our group," Satoshi admitted, "At least someone here cares about cooperation."

Takeshi shook his head, "I'm here, aren't I? Shut the fuck up."

"And we're all so glad to have you," Nari added, rolling her eyes.

I turned to her, "Didn't you say you intended on being nicer?"

Nari glared at me, "I am. You just haven't been paying enough attention."

Daisuke butted in, "Doesn't look like it."

Nari turned to him, "At least I can confess to the person I like!"

Oh. Savage. Daisuke sat back down in silence, not able to muster up the courage to challenge her accusations, and frankly, I couldn't blame him.

Satoshi merely sighed in exasperation, "Seriously, guys? Focus. Has anyone found any useful information?"

Granberia spoke up, "None of the doors or gates leading up the pathways are pickable. Not even with my tool set," she said this very matter-of-factly, "Breaking in is a no-go."

Akihiko also contributed, "Same as breaking it. Would violate the no damage to property rule. I tried scaling the gate, but Monokuma set it up to shock anyone who tries that. Really woke me up, though."

Satoshi nodded, "So we can't pursue our enemies further up the mountain!? That does not bode well... It means we have to wait for them to come to us..."

"Maybe if they try to sign a deal, we can apprehend them?" Takumi brought this up, and for once it was a legitimate suggestion, "Exposing themselves like that seems flawed, really."

"Wow..." Kibou must have been in awe, as she couldn't stop her mouth from hanging open.

Takumi shrugged, "What!? Is it something I said?"

"That's a surprisingly astute observation of yours, Master Adachi. I must say, I am impressed," Yoshikazu admitted, complimenting the verbose pervert.

Takumi responded dryly, "What is that supposed to mean?"

I assured him, "Kaz is proud of you, Takumi. Your idea is very thoughtful and is appreciated."

Takumi blushed in response to my explanation, "Oh... I'm not used to getting praised. My dad just hits me..."

And that went from zero to one hundred. Dark.

Mayu added, "While that is a very good suggestion, I'm not sure if we can. Some of them might not resist so much, but Izuru... Described as a man whose talent is talent itself. How could we restrain something like him?"

Akihiko frowned, "Unless it's me, we likely won't stand a chance. And even if we could, who says it's not against the rules?"

Satoshi gave the rest of us a thumbs up, "See, this is why teamwork is needed. We'd never have thought this through properly if we did this in solitary situations. As for Mayu's addendum, I suggest we ask our captors that before we make a move. If not, then you have my permission to try and apprehend them."

Hanako broke the silence following that announcement, "Just so long as no one gets hurt..."

Emiko concurred, "Agreed. If they resist hard enough, we could get wounded. Then, who knows what might happen to us?"

"God, this game is far more complex than I expected," Takeshi said his piece, "I mean, I still expect for all of you to die and me to be the only one left, but it's at least kinda nice that you're united. Shame it'll all go to hell."

Granberia confronted him, "Is that a threat?"

Takeshi refused to answer at first, but her persistence broke him, "It's destiny. Always has been. My talent ensures that I'll live. The rest of you won't be so unlucky."

"Unlucky...?" Kenji trailed off, not understanding what he meant.

I decided to elaborate for him, "Imagine being the only student to escape? How isolated, how painful, how awful that would be?"

Satoshi rebuked me, "No talk like that. We're all getting out of here."

Takeshi stood up and walked off, but Satoshi blocked him, "The meeting isn't over yet, Takeshi."

"You're full of shit, you know that? I'll be happy to see the look on your face when the first corpse shows up," he grinned, "Then your little hope will be crushed by the overwhelming reality of this situation you're all in."

"I refuse to believe in such pessimistic propaganda! We will escape; by our own free will!" Satoshi rarely got excited, so to see him debate with Takeshi was a surprise, "We can all survive this; that's a fact."

Takeshi chuckled before pushing past him, "Whatever, roadkill." He stalked off.

Kibou ran over to Satoshi to comfort him, "It's okay, Satoshi! He's just being moody, again."

Even Nari agreed, "Yeah, it's fine. Soon, he'll see there's no reason to isolate yourself. Right, Shinji?"

Knowing what I know about him, I wasn't so sure, so I awkwardly redirected the conversation, "Any other info, guys?"

When nobody spoke up, Satoshi nodded, "Then the first meeting is adjourned. Kaz, Kibou, with me. I want to discuss something about our outlier."

Kaz and Kibou nodded, and the three followed after the moody Survivor.

Kenji grabbed my sleeve once more, "Shinji, it's time! We must away! Meet me at the cafe at noon, sharp! Or else!"

"Fine, I said alright already," I reluctantly caved in, "I promise." Kenji finally accepted that answer and vacated the area, leaving me to my thoughts. I decided to go back to my room, since the silence of the rest of the group was rather intimidating.

Eventually, I heard a knock on my door at around ten, so I quickly dressed and opened the cottage door, "Yes?"

Granberia, Mayu, and Shizue stood in the doorway, "Mind if we spend time with you? Our schedule, remember?" Mayu handed me the schedule, and I noticed the times covered every hour of the day.

"Really pushing for that arrangement, huh? I don't have an issue with it, as long as you all remember my limits," I warned, "I ain't giving in."

Granberia rolled her eyes, "You won't win."

I knew that already, but... I still had to try.

"I can if I try hard enough," I replied, "So, any plans? I'm free 'til twelve. Kenji needs me."

Shizue recognized my comment, "Already accounted for in the schedule. Mayu suggested that we all go down to the pool."

Mayu smiled at me, "No ulterior motives, okay? Just wanted to go for a relaxing swim. If you trust me, that is."

"Yeah, I do. You're not one to lie to me," I couldn't shake the feeling that something suspicious was going on, "Let me get my trunks and I'll be with you in a moment."

I gathered my trunks, a blue towel, and a small bag to carry them in. When I exited my cottage, only Granberia remained, "Mayu and Shizue decided to go early to see if the pool is empty. I thought I'd stay behind to let you know. Don't take too long." With that, Granberia made her way down towards the pool. If they were planning anything, Granberia didn't seem nervous in the slightest. She was able to keep a very cool head, and I appreciated that about her.

I considered following, but that feeling of it being some sort of trap lingered. That was when I noticed Kibou and Hanako walking together along the pathway, and an idea formed in my mind.

Walking over as casually as possible, I waved to them, "Yo, Kibou, Hanako. I got one question for you." It was only then that I noticed Kibou was wearing Hello Kitty high heels. Wait, what?

"What is it, Shinji?" Kibou asked, giving me her typical smile.

"You free right now? Wanna take a swim with Mayu, Granberry, Shizue, and I? Figured it'd be nice this hot morning." I decided not to question her on her fashion choices.

Hanako's attention shifted to Kibou, who nodded to her, "Sure, sounds like fun."

"Then I'll meet you down by the pool, alright?" I gave them my most sincere smile and walked away.

Behind me, Takumi walked up to Kibou, "Hey, Kibou. I-" his eyes lock onto her shoes, "What are those!?"

Did he really...?

I stopped by the cafe to snag a quick drink before making my way over to the pool. Out front, it had a sign-in sheet on a small coffee table that Kaz likely delivered from the supermarket. I grabbed the pen, those generic blue ones, and wrote down my name. Looking at my Vita, I checked the time and wrote that down as my time of entry. I noticed that Mayu, Shizue, and Granberia had arrived almost ten minutes ago, and decided to rush inside.

Putting my trunks on swiftly and hoping not to get a hole in them like a neglectful father, I opened the door to the pool and waved to the trio, who were wading in the shallow zone, presumably awaiting my arrival."About time. I was worried I'd have to come find you." Mayu didn't say it in a threatening way, but her serious personality necessitated that I approach with caution.

I laughed it off, "It's fine!" they noticed my sheepish reaction, "Well, I just had to take a detour. Get a drink. Signing in takes time, you know?"

"Shinji! Caught you!" I turned to see Kibou and Hanako rush up behind me. Hanako donned a full blue wetsuit with red stripe lines, while Kibou went with her colorful rainbow bikini. At least she liked to brighten things up?

"Kibou!? What are you two doin' here?" Shizue exclaimed.

Hanako didn't respond, leaving it up to Kibou, "Shinji invited us. Sounded like fun."

Granberia squinted at me, "You crafty bastard."

I looked over, "Did you say something?"

Granberia merely shook her head, "No, nothing at all." she began whistling as if I didn't hear her before. So they _were_ planning something.

Mayu must have brushed it off, because she adapted, "Great idea, Shinji. I've been meaning to spend more time with the others. It's so thoughtful of you to consider making this a larger group activity."

I smell a trap. And I don't mean the programmer, "Oh, really? Thank you as well, Mayu, for indulging me."

Shizue watched the air between the two of us, "Tension, man. It's delicious."

"What?" Kibou asked, "I'm clearly missing some context here, right?"

I dove into the water in the deeper end and held my breath as I maneuvered underwater towards the others. Deciding to get a bit of payback, I lifted Granberia up from under the water to her surprise and shock, "Gotcha!"

Granberia responded my striking me right in the nose, "You scared me!" she tumbled off of me into the water, splashing Shizue and Mayu. Granberia slowly rose from under the water, her eyes fixated on me in a glare, "Meanie!"

"Granberry, I-" she sped towards me and knocked me underwater, "You cheate-!" I coughed on a bit of water as I struggled to regain my balance in the water, to no avail.

Kibou and Hanako finally joined in, sliding off of the side of the pool into the water. Hanako dove into the water and swam with such efficiency, surprising Mayu with a heavy splash of water to blind her. Shizue was distracted by this long enough for Kibou to dunk her into the water with a small laugh.

While the others fought amongst themselves, I reached for Granberia's ankles and pulled her under me. With that, I broke the surface and tried to relocate away from where she was. Granberia grabbed my feet and pulled me down, forcing me to taste the disgusting pool water. I struggled, but she clung on as she used me to aid in her ascent.

This continued on until it got later in the morning. At around 11:30, everyone had exhausted themselves and decided to end the shenanigans and have a casual conversation.

Eventually, a more serious topic arose; the killing game. Mayu started the conversation as casually as any other, "I am glad we can let loose. In other circumstances, this would be even more entertaining. It is... frightening to consider that one of us may be plotting a murder right now."

Hanako trembled upon hearing such a dark foreshadowing, "I doubt it... We are all too close for something like that to happen..."

Kibou chimed in, not letting the dire straits of our current status to get her down, "Of course! Satoshi has put in so much hard work to prevent anyone from dying! There's no way it'll happen."

"You never know what humans are capable of until you see it with your own eyes..." Granberia said, downcast. She nudged me, "For better or worse, right?"

Shizue interjected, "It's not his fault that happened. I'd probably have done the same..."

This is when Kibou tapped me on the shoulder, "By the way... You aren't going to hurt anyone else, right?" I gave her a befuddled expression, "I mean, I trust you as my friend and all, but you have done some questionable things. Satoshi has confided in me his concerns, but I feel like you won't break our trust."

This honestly didn't surprise me that he felt that way, "Oh. I see. No, I understand why he's wary. I would be, too. I guess the only thing to do would be to tie me up or somethin'. I won't struggle if he asked. I'm not itching to escape this resort or make a deal. I have everyone I care about here... I need to be here for them."

Shizue laughed uproariously at me, as if I was some super comedian, "Save us, my Prince!" she burst into laughter again, but spoke in between breaths. "I'm sorry, Shinji! I know what you meant but-" she finally stopped giggling, "It sounded so corny! I love it!"

"I'm serious about this; I wanna protect you guys. Even if you don't need me to..." I sighed, "Anything less would be disrespecting her memory..."

Kibou shivered, probably at the thought of the story I told them, "I'm still sorry for your loss, Shinji. I just can't imagine why Ultimate Despair would do something like that..."

"According to what I managed to find on them in the library, they were supposedly targeting someone. Whether they apprehended their prey or not is unknown to me," Shizue summarized.

Granberia spat into the water, showing her displeasure, "Prey. That bastard would use that word. Treating humans like cattle, how disgusting!"

Taking a glance at the clock above the pool, I noticed it was nearly a quarter from noon, so I shifted towards the edge of the pool and hauled myself up on the side, "I must bid you all adieu, my fair ladies. I am needed elsewhere."

Granberia leered at me, as if cursing me a thousand deaths when I vacated the pool, "Kenji, right. See you later, Shinji."

Shizue waved, "Bye, baaabe!"

Hanako and Kibou both said their farewells, but Mayu's voice sounded out, "Shinji! Just know, the game is not over yet."

With nothing to counter her, I silently nodded and hurried out. I grabbed my handbook from the stack we made by the door to avoid getting them wet. Monokuma promised that they were waterproof, but we were worried about risking it and destroying them, or perhaps getting shocked.

Sliding my handbook down the reader and striding into the locker room. I quickly dressed back down and left my trunks in the hamper. I had cut myself on the pool's edge, so there were a couple of stains now.

With that, I darted towards the cafe, hoping not to make Kenji wait, lest he punish me in some old-fashioned way. I arrived to see him stumbling around with a drink in his hand, "Bad boy! No drinking!"

Kenji swung around, throwing the glass and sparkling cider to the floor, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces, "Fuck! You scared me, dammit!"

"Whoops. I'm so sorry." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes, "And you soaked Panterbell. Congrats."

Panterbell looked up to Kenji, sitting in the corner. A single kitten tear rolled down his cheek before he fled in fear, never looking back. Cider dripped off of him the entire time.

"Smooth," I added, reminding Kenji of his guilt.

Kenji responded with a hard smack to my jaw, which I dodged into, "It's not my fault!"

"Says the guilty one," I rebuked him, "I'd say you're 100% guilty, but I think I misplaced a zero."

After smacking me again, he moved on, "Listen, we need to investigate a certain situation! I got the ladder set up; let's just go!"

"To where?" He ignored my question and just rushed out. I reluctantly followed him, a bad feeling rising in my stomach.

We found ourselves on a very familiar roof. It was the roof to Shinju's cottage, and he had prodded the glass skylight open for us to drop down into. He motioned for me to go first.

I rolled my eyes and sat on the edge, but before I could move, he pushed me, "You bastard!"

Kenji dropped down only after I hit the hard floor, the carpeting only minimizing the sharp pain in my elbow, "Guess that's why they call it the funny bone."

Whispering to myself about how much of a bastard Kenji was, I slowly arose to my feet. Shinju had watched us fall in through her skylight without a single response. She sat on a chair, vacantly staring at us, not wholly there.

Kenji landed on his feet, a simple reminder of how spry and nimble he was. Not paying me and mind, he waltzed towards Shinju, "Greetings, my valiant enemy. The insufferable dominatrix!"

Shinju finally acknowledged his presence, "Hm? What do you want?"

"Well, I was curious as to whether you will give me my due. I expected a climactic final battle with you, but instead you twiddle your thumbs and bide your time in here like some old maid. I came to poke the bear, so to speak." Kenji smirked.

Shinju didn't react to that, surprisingly, "Old maid, huh? I guess I deserve it."

Kenji took out a spray bottle and shot her in the face with the full spray, "Bad girl! This is what I mean. You're no fun when you just give up."

"Can you not spray me?" She asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

He responded by spraying her again, "Make me."

Shinju didn't react any longer. I decided to speak up, "Shinju, he came to cheer you up. Same as me... We want you feeling better. You mean a lot to us."

Kenji turned to me, a hint of redness tinting his cheeks, "Speak for yourself, mouth breather! I only want a fair fight!"

Shinju snatched the spray bottle from his grasp and sprayed him in the right ear, causing him to squeak in surprise, "Old maid!? You mean Hanako in fifty years!?"

Kenji grabbed a lighter from his back pocket, "Back, wench! I will burn you at the stake! " Shinju sprayed the lighter, destroying his flames, "...Well, shit." Kenji twirled towards the door, fleeing, "Away, Shinji! The she beast has awoken!"

I laughed as he sped away, "You got him good, huh? I'm glad you're back to normal. Ri-" she sprayed me in the mouth, and only then did I realize Kenji had put a bit of vinegar into the bottle. I choked on it, gagging as I tried not to puke.

"You broke in, too..." Shinju added, ominously glaring at me, her eyes illuminating the darker side of her room, bathed in shadows from the sunlight.

Unable to form words due to the awful taste in my mouth, I fled, running towards the direction Kenji had, with Shinju close at my heels.

Later that night, I invited Shinju back to my room to discuss something with her. She and I were casually lying on my bed, just looking up through the skylight. I secretly hoped no one would crash down through it, since that had become a running gag.

Shinju eventually interrupted the silence first, "Shinji... I'm sorry."

I groaned as I rose to my knees before crossing my legs and sitting on them, "I already forgave you over the whole incident. There's no lasting damage, and I'm just happy that you're safe."

Shinju didn't retort for a couple of seconds longer than normal, "I'm not talking about just that. I wanted to apologize for everything I did to you over the course of that month. I was mean, I called you names, and I... I just wanted to say that. In case I don't get the chance to do it later."

"You're not going anywhere, so long as I'm here to keep you safe," I riposted her assumption, "I mean that. Come storms or Monokuma, I'll resist until the very end for you."

Shinju's voice cracked a bit as she shakily replied, "You're t-too nice for your own good, Shinji. I guess that's why I fell in love with you, huh? Those past games... Could simulations like that even be possible?"

I really didn't know. According to the documents from Hope's Peak, they were, but even then a lot of that information was questionable by any logical thinker. Nico tried to come up with some explanation for why our captors would fake the information in there, but not once could we find an agreeable explanation.

She took my silence as my answer, but before she said as much, a familiar face appeared on the monitors, "Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make! I know everyone must be super excited to see what I have in store for our first motive! Everyone, please make your way to the stage in the courtyard!"

Shinju and I quickly exchanged glances before we put on our jackets and exited my cottage. The cold air assaulted us, but I held her close and ignored it. Together, we walked towards the stage. We must have taken longer than it seemed, since we were the last arrivals.

"About time," Takeshi complained like usual.

Monokuma's voice boomed loudly as he spoke into a microphone. There was a new podium on the stage, with the Academy insignia on a small banner waving in the wind on it, "Puhuhu! Finally, the fun can _really_ start!"

Daisuke must have been tired of our new headmaster, "Get on with it, you sick freak. I would rather sleep than listen to you make an ass of yourself."

"But I'm not a donkey! I'm a bear! Can't you tell?" Monokuma posed in several different ways, only to annoy us further.

Nico adjusted his glasses before speaking up, "Do you intend to actually say something noteworthy, or are you just wasting our time?"

That was when I noticed Monokuma wasn't alone. That girl from earlier, Fuuko, was filing her nails as she sat in a metal chair behind him, oblivious to our presence. Her glasses were reflecting the moonlight, and she continued to ignore our presence until she spoke, "I won the lottery, so I earned the right to challenge you all first. Naturally, Monokuma is here tonight to dispense your first general motive."

"Motive?" Takumi asked, not paying much attention.

"You have ears, dumbass. He's got some motive only a complete idiot would use to justify their murder spree. Better watch out for Takumi, there," Fuuko pointed at him.

Monokuma angrily clawed the air towards his companion, "Gosh, you're so boring! I worked really hard on this motive! Don't talk down to me!"

Fuuko shrugged off his response. She wasn't really into this, was she?

Monokuma sulked for a moment before turning back around to address us, "That's right, the motive! But first; I wanted to point something out. You all know by now you were Junko's juniors, and that you were all going to attend the Academy when you were shipped here due to the Most Awful Event to happen on Academy grounds."

Nico rose to the challenge, "The event in which the entire Student Council, save two, were killed in Junko's first run of the Killing Game. What about it?"

"You remembered all that?" Kibou asked, sounding impressed, "I thought I was the only one here with great memorization skills!"

Monokuma clapped a couple of times, "Yes, yes. A round of applause. Let me talk already! Now, if that is the case, and one of you is a member of Ultimate Despair, then what does that mean?"

"What kinda cryptic bullshit is that?" Takeshi was already causing trouble, "So what if we never attended? Anyone could become a member, right?"

Satoshi rejected his proposition, "This was before the mass suicide of the Reserve Department. Despair wasn't spreading globally yet, so for someone to succumb to despair, they would have had to-"

Nico finished the thought for him, "Meet Junko personally."

"Puhuhuhuhu! Correct! One of you met Junko Enoshima in the flesh! Isn't that amazing!?" Monokuma giggled to himself, "That's the first clue to who among you is the mastermind behind your getting stuck in all those nasty killing simulations. But enough about thaaaat! The real one is way more scintillating, isn't it!?"

"I would disagree," Daisuke shut him down instantly.

Monokuma didn't acknowledge what he said and ignored Daisuke instead, "Some of you might find this motive more worthwhile than others, of course. It's the ole' Switcheroo!"

"The what?" Akihiko had had enough of Monokuma's odd tendency to skirt around what he meant.

"Whoever commits the first murder will be given a very special gift! They will be allowed to choose someone to take their place and escape!" Monokuma cackled after he stared at each of our expressions to this new information.

"You mean we could kill someone and let someone else out!?" Kenji exclaimed, the gears turning more quickly for him than the rest of us.

Monokuma looked me in the eyes, "I'm curious how you feel about that, huh, Shinji? Seems like a pretty good deal for a sentimental type like you, huh?"

Nari stepped in front of me, blocking the bear from view, "Yeah, right. Shinji isn't going to give in to your little motive, alright!? He's better than that, better than you!"

Monokuma shrugged, "If you say so. This is only an option for the first Blackened, though, so if you want this, then get to killin'!"

He disappeared, and his companion Fuuko took the stand, "That bear... So annoying."

"You're one to talk," Granberia roasted her without hesitation.

Fuuko rolled her eyes, "Dogs are not allowed to talk back, understood?" Granberia glared at her even more hatefully, and I could only watch as Fuuko moved on past that insult, "Because I went first, I gotta make sure you lose. If my plan, whatever it may be, works out, the Blackened will get an extra reward. If the Blackened is caught and my plan fails, my life will be under your jurisdiction. Not that I intend to lose."

Akihiko boldly asked, "Are there any rules against the Blackened, or any of us, capturing and restraining you before a murder is committed?"

"Until the failed Blackened is executed, it would be considered attacking your Headmaster. Certainly your tiny brain can do the math," she was quite rude, but for some reason it seemed insincere, "Screw it. This villain stuff is harder than it looks."

"What do you mean by that?" Nico must have really wanted an answer if he spoke out to such a cruel girl.

Fuuko let out a sigh and massaged her temples before explaining, "It's not that I have anything against you guys. The only person I hate is the member of Despair. For what they did to my sister, I will _never_ forgive them. I want to watch them die slowly. And so long as Izuru is unable to determine who it is, I have to be able to avoid getting attached to any of you losers. Except for big sis, of course."

Everyone looked to Shinju, since Fuuko had called her that before, "Fuuko... Why?" Shinju must have been as hurt by her sister's betrayal as I was about Kiyo, but there was nothing to be done.

Fuuko seemed legitimately torn once Shinju responded, "I, uh, hate to do this. But Izuru is certain he can only narrow down the suspects with this game, and if that's what it takes..." Fuuko rubbed her eyes with her jacket sleeve, "So don't die, okay? Then once the last survivor of Ultimate Despair is killed, we can all forgive and forget, right?" Fuuko trudged off, no longer in fear of any of us trying to apprehend her lest we get executed for it.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

We all had things we wanted to say, but before we could, an announcement rang out, "Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make! It is now 10:00 pm. As it is now night time, some parts of the resort will be closed off. Please, return to your cottages and let the beautiful sounds of nature lull you to sleep! And don't forget to lock your doors!"

Satoshi eventually ordered us, "To your rooms, now. We'll discuss this tomorrow. And no rash actions. Yoshikazu, you and I will keep on the lookout tonight, understood?"

Yoshikazu nodded, "I have already dispensed the laundry, so I have no objections."

With that, we all went back to our cottages. I took Shinju with me to hers, where we fell asleep together, trying to keep our spirits up.

 **Monokuma Theater 2#**

Once again, the scene changed back to that same stage, where Monokuma stood alone, the lights illuminating his place on the stage. Two other spotlights shined down, while stars and clouds floated past behind Monokuma, likely on a green screen.

Monokuma started speaking once more, on another random tangent, "When I first heard the idea for pet rocks, I thought they were joking! I mean, a rock with googly eyes? Why not a Monokuma plushie instead!? I thought it was so stupid, but now the guy's a millionaire. Just goes to show, sometimes what you need isn't hard work, but to take advantage of the stupid! I'm halfway to going into politics!"

The curtains closed, and the scene faded to black.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make... Goooooood morning, everyone! Today is going to be one more fun-filled day! Make sure to give it your all today, because it might be your laaaaast!"

It wasn't any less irritating this time either. I opened my eyes, only to see that Shinju had slept through it and was still holding me tightly. My head and body refused to move, and I was tempted to just fall back to sleep. It was really comfortable, and the conversation the group was likely to have wouldn't give us any new information that we could use.

Despite knowing that, I knew I had to. I stretched my limbs for a bit before finally sitting up and nudging for Shinju to wake up, "Shinju, it's time to wake up," she tried to shove my hand away, "I don't want to get up either. Come on."

She groaned and complained the entire time, but eventually we dressed ourselves and stepped out. With a bit of hesitation, we made our way down to the courtyard and seated ourselves next to the other girls.

Not long before we arrived, Satoshi addressed the whole group once more, "Day Four and no incidents. Luckily, I can say with some assurance that Monokuma's motive clearly fell flat."

Takumi responded with an unexpected enthusiastic response, "'Course not, dude! None of us here are filthy killers!"

"It's not about being filthy or cold-blooded," Akihiko admonished him, "It's human to want to be free. The prospect of saving one you love... It must be enticing."

Daisuke agreed, "Imagine your closest family being on the line or somethin'? If they kidnapped my sister, I..."

Yoshikazu interrupted his train of thought, "Thinking like that is of no use, Daisuke. It is exactly what Monokuma wants."

Satoshi nodded, "Exactly. We need to keep thinking of all of us getting out of here. Kibou suggested that we continue to use this time to forge bonds between us. Normally, this kind of endeavor might be risky, but I find it better to find solace in friendship than to be overly cautious."

Yoshikazu stood up and joined Satoshi in the center, "Master Hondo has arranged for us to enjoy a barbecue tomorrow evening. I have already gathered the supplies, food, equipment, et cetera. Please arrive at approximately 5 PM to join us."

"What if someone tries something funny?" Takeshi, for once, didn't add expletives to his question.

Akihiko laughed, "They can try. I'll be working as the bouncer, so anyone who isn't there'll be signed in. If you intend to be absent, remember that you will be considered a risk. On the other hand, Satoshi and Daisuke have both agreed to monitor the situation very closely."

"So if we chose to go, must we stay until the festivities are through?" Nico brought up, "I intend to go, but I'd like to know in case of emergency."

Satoshi casually shrugged, "You can sign out to take a bathroom break and such. Just don't forget it," he was being surprisingly forceful in laying out the law for once.

Takeshi, instead of simply voicing his displeasure, grabbed his plate of food and sauntered off to his room.

"...I think we can presume he will be absent," Kenji commented on his slow departure.

Emiko, who was seated next to Akihiko, shrugged his refusal off, "More fun for the rest of us. People like him eventually open up."

Granberia countered, "Or die early. Considering it's him, I'm not sure which is more prevalent."

Amidst our discussion, Shizue and Mayu finished their meals and got up to leave. I decided to ask, "Leaving early?"

Mayu responded with that old, familiar tone, "Shizue and I have made plans together for the day. Unless you want us to adjust them for you?"

I thought about it, but decided not to, "Naw, you guys have fun. I'll find something else to occupy my time."

Mayu smiled back, "Then we'll talk to you later, Shinji. Stay safe."

Shizue added, "Call us if anything comes up. We'll be there for you."

I was unable to contain my own smile any longer, "I'm aware. I love you guys, too." I paused for a moment after I said that, "Er, uh... Smell ya later!" I quickly trudged off, leaving the awkward scene as swiftly as possible.

Once I opened the door to my cottage and stepped inside, I struggled to decide what to do. I could play my games, since I had a stash with me under my bed. Then again, I also felt like going to the forest. I wonder if I should invite anyone...?

Before I could decide, there was a knock at the door. I meandered over and slowly opened the door, letting it creak as eerily as possible. Emiko, awaiting me on the other side, was unamused, "Could you take any longer? It's rude to make your guests wait, you know?"

"And what does Miss Norita wish of me today, huh?" I was sassing her again, due to her tendency to value herself so highly.

Emiko forced her way inside before acknowledging my question, "Takumi decided to play a prank on me, and I'm furious with the little bastard. Apparently, he took my last few jokes personally, and decided to pay me back by wrecking my cottage. So I need your help."

"My help? What do you plan on doing to him?"

"A prank for a prank. I want to get him back, but I'm not really sure what I should try to do," she put her finger to her chin, "I could light him on fire, but that might be a problem..."

 _You think!?_ "How about we try something that's less, I don't know...Fatal!?" I exclaimed.

Emiko creased her brow, "It was a joke, Shinji. You know me better."

I averted her gaze, "I...I know. This game has just rattled with my nerves, is all."

"Hence, this little diversion of mine is quite perfect, right? Let's blow off some steam!" Emiko dragged me by the hand and we began setting up a prank for Takumi.

After a few hours of failed projects that led to me hitting my face with the wooden part of a rake, tripping onto a house of Legos, and getting covered in goat's blood, Emiko eventually settled on the much less insane idea of covering him in honey and caramel sauce. That being said, I demanded she do it later at night, since I wanted to take a bath and change my clothes.

I returned to my cottage only to find that the door had been left open, slightly ajar. Very suspicious, I crept up and looked inside. Daisuke and Nico were inside, so I jumped in as fast as possible, "The hell, guys!?"

Daisuke glanced over as he held some of my Vita games in his hand, "Oh, hey Shinji. Was just looking through your stash, wanted to see if there was anything in here I'd like."

"Who the hell-" I started to object.

Nico stepped in between us, "Koneko mentioned it. Daisuke wanted to check 'em out. I asked to wait until you got back, but he was too curious. You left your door open, so..."

I could feel the vein in my neck want to burst, "Why the hell would you just break in!?" I walked over to Daisuke and snatched my games away, "And ask before you rummage through my belongings!"

Daisuke merely laughed, trying to play it off, "Oh, it's okay, bro. I didn't mean no harm. So since you're here, can I borrow 'em?"

I scanned his facial expression as I examined the game cases, making sure everything was in its place, "I should put my foot in your ass right now. ...Whatever, fine. Just not one. I keep that with me at any given time. It's my favorite game."

Daisuke nudged me, "And what game would that be?"

I took my backup Vita out of a drawer and shoved it into his hands, "Leave before I have to force you out."

"Come on, bro. Why's it such a secret? You embarrassed or somethin'?" Daisuke was teasing me, and he knew it usually would lead me to giving in.

I grabbed the only game I kept a fierce grip on and quickly shoved it in my back pocket, "Out. Now."

Daisuke tried to lighten the mood, "You know I don't mean any harm, right? It's just some good old ribbing, man. Just relax, okay?"

"Then leave. I'm not in the mood, if you couldn't tell," I pointed to my clothes, "So get out and let me bathe in peace!"

Daisuke deigned not to ask and stepped outside. Nico quickly followed suit, but before he left, he turned to me, "Nice choice. I played that on my channel, huh."

Did he see...? He didn't say anything else as he walked out, "Nico? Really, why were you guys here?"

Nico peered back at me, having to look down to his height, "Like Daisuke said-"

"No. There is more to this story. Lying to me isn't right," I shut him down, "Are you going to be honest with me or not, Nico?"

Nico hesitated to respond to that, which really said it all, "So, who is it? Your favorite character in that?"

Really? That was his diversion? "Be that way, then. The Prince isn't taking visitors," I urged Nico out of my room, ignoring any more of his attempts to talk to me, "Go on, shoo."

Once he left, I slammed my door shut and locked it several times over. Why were they in here? I couldn't think of anything, so I took a long hot bath before dressing myself up in new clothes and exiting my room. It was evening, at about 8:30 PM. The sun was setting, and it was time for Emiko's trap.

I met Emiko outside of the arcade, where she had placed her trap. The revolving doors were set up to cover Takumi the second he pushed them to get inside. I was to encourage Takumi to go first, joining me inside the arcade for a bit of gaming. Takumi was ecstatic that anyone wanted to spend time with him.

I felt bad abusing his trust like this, but he did certainly ask for this. Plus, I was in too deep to see anything less than success. When Takumi waved to me, Emiko blended into the shadows and slid around the side of the building to remain out of sight.

"Hey, man! Glad to hang out with you again!" Takumi high-fived me, a cheerful grin on his face, "I like this guy time we have. Nice to have a friend, you know?" The guilt was real, "I know I can be abrasive, and all, but I really do appreciate this, Shinji." Ow, my heart.

I put my arm around him, "No problem, man. I brought enough quarters from the side. I signed us both up, so we can go in. I just have to mark the time."

Takumi checked his Kuwata-brand watch, "8:45. Write that in. I'll get us some primo seats." He knows we're the only ones here, right? "I even wore my Sayaka shirt, man! Like when we first met! Hell yeah!" Indeed, he was. Maizono had a beautiful body; I had no discourse but to admit to that truth.

As I wrote our names down, he pushed the revolving door and was hit upside the head with a heavy bucket filled with delicious ice cream toppings. Emiko had even put in some whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top. Takumi fell to his feet and yelped in pain.

Emiko exploded into maniacal laughter as she stepped out from the shadows, unable to stop herself as she tumbled to the ground and clutched her aching stomach.

Takumi's eyes leveled with me, "You traitor! You tricked me!"

"Basically. Sorry, dude, but after the prank you did to her..." I tried to justify it, but it was still mean on my part, "If you want to get me back-"

Takumi stood up, "I'll get payback for this, Norita. Payback that will haunt you forever!"

Emiko didn't respond to what she perceived an empty threat as Takumi stumbled back to his cottage, screaming about how it was in his hair. I shuddered to think how slimy and sticky he was feeling right now.

I patiently awaited the end to her fits of laughter before I commented, "That was cold, Emiko. I know I helped, but he really seemed crushed by that. I feel bad."

Emiko put her hand on my shoulder, "Trust me, he'll forget about it by tomorrow. Takumi doesn't let this stuff get to him. If he pranks you back, though, I apologize."

"Still, I'm going to try to make it up with him." I left Emiko there and hurried after Takumi. Only once he was inside his cottage did I catch up. I knocked.

"Who's there!?" Takumi shouted, sounding very standoffish.

I braced myself for retribution, "It's me, Takumi. I came by to apologize. I shouldn't have abided by her prank."

Takumi ranted, "Abusing my trust for you! That was cold, Shinji! Stone cold! I'll never forgive this one!"

Unable to deny the cruelty of our little joke, I gave in, "Fine. Consider me owing you one. Whatever it is. I've got your back. I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything, so I just pressed my head against his door, waiting for the silence to be broken, "I'll consider it."

With a heavy sigh, I finally cheered up myself a bit, "Thanks, Takumi. I'll see you tomorrow."

I cautiously walked back to my cottage, noticing the damned door was open again. I could have sworn I locked it this time. I checked my pocket and could no longer feel my key in it. Who could have-...Granberia!

I angrily walked over and threw my door open, "Who the hell's in here now!?"

Granberia was sitting on my bed ever so casually, reading a book. One of mine. I didn't know what annoyed me more; the fact she was breaking in, or the fact she was reading the third book first, "Hey, Shinji."

"Robert Jordan didn't die to pump that series out so you could read it in the wrong order," I bitterly spat the words out, annoyed at having my privacy constantly invaded, "I'm not angry at you. I just..."

"I already read the first two while you were off gallivanting," she said with such an unaffected expression, "You have good taste. Dovie'andie se tovya sagain, right?"

I was surprised that she remembered Mat Cauthon's catch phrase so easily, "Now isn't the best time for dice tossing. I have the most awful luck."

Granberia chuckled as she set the book down on my table, sliding a marker in before closing it shut, "I see. Nico told me about your little argument earlier. There's no need to be so upset, Shinji. He was just being a good friend."

"How?"

"We needed to know your weakness, of course. You've been surprisingly successful at keeping us at bay. I wanted to just forcefully snuggle you, but the others disagreed. Mayu knew we couldn't battle you honourably. Nari's suggestions were too risky, and Shinju was reluctant to try anything," Granberia slowly explained, "Koneko launched the 'Be Irresistibly Adorable' plan, but you were able to brush us off, so..."

I thought about her implications. The only person left to play their hand was...

"Ah, it seems you have come to a conclusion," A voice spoke up behind me. That voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. It was different from anyone I had met on the island so far.

"Shizue, is that you? Did you think cosplaying as someone would defeat me? When you launch a final attack, surprise is key," I jokingly lectured her on her battle plan.

The person behind me stepped closer, only a foot or so, "Risky, yes, but risk is a necessity in securing a victory, wouldn't you say?" The voice was very... androgynous and hard to place.

If this had anything to do with Daisuke and Nico from earlier, that would be an issue. I hadn't played many of those games in a significant while, "Can I get a hint or should I just turn around?"

Granberia used this opportunity to tease me, "Shinji, really? Can't you solve the mystery yourself? Then again, that's more her stick now, isn't it?"

Her? Mystery? Thinking back to the games I could remember well... The Zero Escape series, Ace Attorney... What was I forgetting?

Getting annoyed, I gave up and spun around, "No time for games. I'm no-..."

"Yes? Is there something wrong, Shinji-kun?" Shizue was no longer herself right now, and I couldn't breathe, "There is no need to be so speechless. You know who I am. Formalities are always a bit boring among close friends, right?"

I clenched my fists, trying not to break out into tears, "You actually... I never thought that..."

The girl standing before me stepped forward, looking up to me. The reality that she was only five feet tall surprised me, since I had never been able to look this beauty in her adorable grey eyes before, "I am curious, though. You displayed such loyalty in the game, never treading off of the path that intertwined with mine. Finally, I can ask the person on the other side... Why you chose me."

I stepped back, trying not to fall backwards onto my ass, "...You... You were my first love... Naoto."

The Detective Prince was standing in front of me in all her glory, the light blue shirt and yellow necktie adoring her upper half, while her lower half was her casual grey pants and some black fingerless gloves. She smiled knowingly, as if she saw right through me. Every feature I remembered in detail was now in front of me, perfectly recreated. Her Yuno Gasai transformation wasn't even this perfectly crafted.

"Yoshikazu helped her out today once Nico gave us the details," Granberia triumphantly proclaimed, "You never stood a chance once you let it slip."

I glared at Granberry before turning back to my precious "prince", "This isn't fair."

She merely smiled back at me, once again with that all-knowing smirk, "I know. I'm willing to discuss the terms of your surrende-"

I interrupted her with a strong kiss, unable to contain my emotions that were begging, pleading, aching to be expressed. I broke the kiss for a moment to gauge her reaction.

"Can we please talk before yo-"

"I love when you get flustered," I kissed her once more, not willing to let her escape my grasp. No matter how embarrassed she may have been, she quickly returned the kiss, and we both lost ourselves in the moment.

 **Monokuma Theater 3#**

The all-too-familiar stage plopped down from the heavens once more, to an adoring audience of Monokumas. As they cheered on, Monokuma sat up.

"Ever wonder what it's like to be the best at something!? Well, of course, none of you out there really know this feeling. It's kind of sad; how can you sympathize with Ultimates when you're as run-of-the-mill as they come!?" Monokuma started mocking the audience. A couple of people in the audience booed.

Monokuma giggled at this, "Mad because it's truuuue! I wish I was a loser like you guys so I could sympathize, but it's hard for this perfect bear to do that, you know!? I can never be normal... In a way, doesn't that make me the more pitiable one here?"

With that, the theater curtains closed, and the scene faded to black.

The clock read 12 PM when I awoke the next day. Not particularly willing to get up, I glanced over at Granberia, who had clung to my one side and Naoto on the other. Let it never be said that I gave in easily, but some things in life you just couldn't refuse.

"Crap, we slept in. Guys, wake up." I prodded the two of them, and eventually they stirred. Granberia fell off of the side of the bed, and angrily tossed her pillow at me, "I didn't do that!"

Granberia pouted at me as she walked over and dressed herself, still glaring at me every once in awhile, "...Baka."

"Well, excuuuuuse me, princess," I finally woke my other companion with a small nudge, "Up and about, Shirogane. Today we have a group meeting or something, right?"

With a toss and a groan, she sat up. She yawned and stretched. I felt myself burning up as she was still completely undressed, so I tried to look away.

Getting out of bed, I groggily walked over to my wardrobe and grabbed whatever worked. I didn't much care for keeping up an appearance here. It wouldn't keep my alive, after all. Soon, the three of us were dressed, and we made our way to the courtyard.

Naoto grabbed Granberia's hand and walked away, "We're off to find Satoshi. We wish to speak with him about some things. Including, of course, my transformation. Tonight will be an enjoyable one, hopefully."

As those two walked off, I noticed Yoshikazu in the kitchen, working up a sweat. I walked over, wanting to speak with someone, "Hey, Kaz. Working hard again, are we?"

Yoshikazu perked up once he saw me, "Ah, yes. Shinji, I am glad to see you. I was concerned this morning. Here's a drink," he handed me some chocolate milk, "Freshly made. I hope it suits your tastes.

I nodded, "Thanks, man. Sorry that I wasn't here this morning."

Yoshikazu smiled back at me, "It's fine. Emiko informed us that you and a detective were busy inspecting hard evidence." I spit some of the milk right out of my mouth, "Is something amiss?"

I wiped my chin and just forced myself to swallow the rest, "Nothing, just choked a bit. It's fine, now..." I was sweating profusely at this point.

"Actually, I must be off for a moment. Excuse me," Yoshikazu walked off towards the supermarket, "I forgot a broiling pan, how shameful of me!" As he picked up the pace, I sat behind the kitchen and closed my eyes, listening to the wind as the gentle sea breeze winded through the courtyard.

I must have drifted off for a bit, because I awoke with a start. Something had fallen over in the kitchen area. I forced myself up and walked inside, to see Takumi with a small container of something in his hand. It looked grated, and he was looking over the food dishes, "The hell are you doing?"

Takumi stumbled and dropped his container to the floor. When he bent over to retrieve it, he smacked his head against the side of the stove on the sharpest bit, cutting his forehead, "Fucking hell!"

I walked over and grabbed him by the collar, "Takumi. Explain. Now."

Takumi placed the container in his back pocket and tried to escape my grasp, "Nothin' dude. It was just a prank, bro."

"What did you do?" I demanded.

"I was just gonna flavor Emiko's meal with some spicy shit, okay? Get her back, is all, I swear!" Takumi plead.

I sighed and let go of him, "If anyone else caught you, they'd have accused you of a murder attempt. Get out of here before I change my mind and tell the others."

Takumi nodded, "But can't I just-"

I rolled my eyes, "Out." Takumi fled like a dog, tail between his legs. Deciding I couldn't trust him, I stood by until Yoshikazu returned.

"Ah, Master Kizami. Is there something amiss?" He asked, concerned.

I debated whether telling him or not, "Takumi came in and was gonna taint one with spices or something. I'd check to make sure," I walked past him, "Wants revenge for some prank he pulled on her."

Yoshikazu began investigating the food to ensure its safety, so I walked out and left it to him. A little while later, he called out, "The dishes have been inspected, Shinji. There are no oddities among them that I could find. do you know what dishes he messed with?"

I shook my head when he peeked out to look at me, "No, I didn't."

Yoshikazu frowned, "I'd rather be safe and sorry, so I'll dispose of them and make new ones, anyway." He began tossing the food that had been left unprotected into the sink and turned on the garbage disposal, grinding it up to juice.

I felt a tap upon my back, and turned to see Shinju, "Shinji, I uh... I wanted to spend some time with you today, if that's alright with you?"

I smiled back, patting her on the head ever so gently, "Of course, Shinju. It's no trouble."

Shinju nodded, "Then can I go back with you to your room? I'm kind of cold outside."

I nodded, and the two of us walked back and exchanged pleasantries. She eventually snuggled up into my arms and fell asleep just like that. I checked the time. It was only two in the afternoon, so I hoped I'd wake from my nap in time to make it to Satoshi's get-together.

The moment when you know you've slept in too late so you don't want to open your eyes to confirm how royally boned you are is one of those feelings you don't want but always get. I woke up and noticed the clock read 7:30 PM. How unfortunate for me.

I shot to my feet, yelling for Shinju to get dressed as I ran to my wardrobe and changed into fresher clothes. She redressed herself and the two of us left my cottage and headed down past the courtyard towards the area Satoshi set up near the supermarket.

When we got there, only Kibou, Hanako, and Nico were there. They smiled as we walked over, "Hey, guys. Slept in, huh?" Hanako asked, giving us her kind smile.

"Where'd everyone go?" I asked, somewhat confused, "Isn't this where-"

*Ding dong, ding dong*

A noise rang out, causing Hanako, Kibou, and I to jump.

"What was that!?" Nico exclaimed.

Monokuma appeared on the screens, including one quite near to us, next to a camera by the back table, "A body has been discovered! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"

With that, the five of us exchanged serious glances. Nico led Hanako back to her cottage, while Shinju, Kibou, and I ran around, looking for signs of life.

On the way, Kibou informed us, "A few of us, besides you guys, weren't there. A couple of people left and never came back, so Satoshi, Daisuke, and Aki headed off to look for them! I guess it went horribly!"

Eventually, we passed by the building leading to the hot springs and pool. Reluctantly, we walked inside. We noticed that both locker room doors had been left wide open, and we rushed to the other side through our own rooms.

I noticed no one was in the hot springs, so I ran towards the bathrooms and pool. I saw Kibou and Shinju standing, listlessly in the hallway. I rushed past them, and what I saw would forever be ingrained in my memories.

The pool room was filled with our fellow students. Satoshi, Daisuke, Akihiko, and Granberia were all discussing something while Mayu looked over the body of our former student.

Next to the corpse was a large, bloodied hammer. Clearly, it had to have been the murder weapon, considering that the body seemed to have suffered several huge impacts. The wall next to her had blood written out to form a single name; Shinju.

This confused me, since Shinju had been asleep with me. But what frightened me even more was who had been killed.

Before us was the corpse of Emiko Norita, the Ultimate Babysitter. She was a troll, and could be manipulative and cunning. In the end, though, her heart was in the right place and she never truly brought harm or ruin to people.

I walked over, barely able to speak, "Satoshi..."

Satoshi clenched his fist in anger and punched the wall, screaming. It was a scream of pure pain, and it really was hard to hear.

"Oh, how sad. To think someone would assault some poor girl like this," We turned to see Monokuma smiling at us, "Attacking a poor defenseless girl? The Blackened this time around is so cruel, don't you think!?"

Satoshi turned to Monokuma, his hand bleeding profusely, "You bastard! You did this!" Satoshi rushed forward, but he was held back by Akihiko, so all he could do was break into angry tears, "Why would you let this happen!?"

Monokuma laughed, "Wasn't that your job? Upupu! You're the loser leader, after all!"

Satoshi fell to his knees, unable to argue any further. He just looked over to the corpse, "..."

"Anyways, I'm here to inform you all! The very first Monokuma File has been uploaded to your e-Handbooks! It has all the juicy details on the murder! Cause of death, time of death, and more!" Monokuma sadistically laughed with glee, "Make sure to investigate properly! Otherwise, you might not live to see tomorrow!"

With that, Monokuma disappeared off into the night, leaving Shinju, Kibou, and I in a daze. As we looked back from Emiko's corpse to Satoshi, crying and slamming his fist into the tile floor as Daisuke, Granberia, and Akihiko watched, motionless, we knew one thing and one thing only; we were going to have a bad time...


	21. Chapter One Deadly Life

Author's Note: Finished in way less time. Haha! Trying to design a compelling murder mystery that holds up is harder than it seems. Hopefully, the evidence here is sufficient to figure it out. Or not; who knows? This is the first one, after all.

 _ **Chapter One-Doting Detective, Secret Slayer**_

 _ **-Deadly Life-**_

It was a while before reality finally kicked in. We all just stood there, dumbfounded. It was eventually Mayu who forced us back into the cold, harsh situation we had been thrust into.

Mayu commanded, "Shinji, notify the others. Kibou, walk Satoshi to his room and patch him up. Daisuke, Akihiko. Guard the body. If anyone tries to interfere with the crime scene, take 'em down."

I stood there in a daze before nodding in acknowledgment and rushing out. With haste, I looked around for the others. I noticed Yoshikazu in the laundry room, "Kaz! No time for folding laundry!"

"But Kizami, I am in the middle of-"

I grabbed his arm, "Emiko's dead, damnit! We need your help!"

Yoshikazu stood there, dumbfounded, "So that announcement..."

"Was the real deal, yes. Get a move on!" I ushered him out, "The pool room, now!"

Yoshikazu sped off in that direction, leading me to wonder where the others were. I eventually decided to just bang on their doors.

First, I checked Takumi's. The door opened when I pulled the knob, and I bolted inside. He wasn't in the room, but I noticed that container from earlier. I snatched it in my right hand and placed it in my one free back pocket for now before rushing out.

I immediately bumped into Takeshi, who knocked me flat, "Watch where you're going, loser."

"Takeshi! There you are!" I scrambled to my feet and grabbed his shoulders, "Someone's been killed!"

Takeshi shrugged me off, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Not my problem. Hope the investigation goes well. I'm going to bed."

"Don't you care!?" I exclaimed, annoyed by his attitude.

Takeshi shook his head, as if to further piss me off, "Beauty sleep waits for no murder." Takeshi wandered off to his cottage, closing the door and locking it behind it.

Dammit. Why did he have to be like this!? No, that's a waste of time. I need to find the others.

Nico met up with me as I continued towards Nari's cottage, "Hanako is in her room resting. She should be fine, but I told her to just lock her door and stay safe for now."

I nodded, "Good call. We'll have her investigate with us later if we need her. I still need to find Nari, Koneko, Shizue, and Takumi. Takeshi locked himself in his room, so he'll be of no help."

Nico cursed to himself before nodding, "Where is the body?"

I stopped running and felt a twinge of pain in my chest, "The pool room. Emiko was killed. Someone beat her to death with a hammer."

Nico couldn't talk for a moment, "Why the fuck did someone actually go through with it!?"

I wanted to answer that. I wanted this to be some nightmare, a sick, cruel joke. But the lifeless stare in Emiko's eyes, the blood spattering her clothes. It was too real, too visceral. If we didn't stop the killer in the trial, this would end up a veritable Corpse Party.

I eventually reached Nari's door and knocked on it. Koneko answered the door, "Oh, Shinji. It's just you. When I heard that announcement..."

Nico spoke up for me, "Is Nari here too?"

Nari lifted herself off of the bed and came to the door, drowsily, "Koneko here woke me up over an announcement. What's up?"

I didn't know how to tell her that her best friend was dead. What could you say in this scenario?

Nico noticed my struggle, and he decided to inform them for me, like a true friend would, "Emiko's body was discovered down by the pool."

Koneko's jaw fell open, and she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

Nari took a turn for the worse, "You... Don't joke like that. That's not funny!"

Nico vehemently shook his head, "It's not a joke! Shinji saw her body!"

Nari clenched her fists in anger and roughly pushed herself past us. I began to run after her, but Nico grabbed my arm, "She has to see for herself. We have to begin our investigation or we're all going to be executed."

Koneko commented, "Nico, you seem surprisingly level-headed right now."

"Well, honestly, I expected to die first. As awful as it is to say, I want to prove as useful as I can so my friends and I can survive," Nico said with an unexpected passion to his voice, "Even if you all make some shit decisions."

Koneko checked her handbook, "Monokuma File. Real deal..." she sighed, "Nico, let's go down and check out the body. I need your mind for a bit."

Nico chuckled, speaking in his nerdiest voice, "Oh my god! A girl needs me! I can't wait to tell mom!"

"I've got some other things to investigate," I eventually replied, "I'll be down there momentarily."

Koneko nodded, "Alright. But here," she handed me a walkie talkie, "In case you spot suspicious activity. Nico, let's pass these out. The killer could slay a second person if we're not careful."

Nico grabbed a few from her, "Let's have Kaz help us pass these out." The two ran off towards the pool, carrying the talkies.

I went to my cottage and pulled out my favorite jacket, long-lasting brown leather with pockets for days. I put the walkie talkie inside the left chest pocket and opened my handbook. Time to read the file.

I opened the handbook and swiped it down one page. Emiko's body, lying against the side of the pool wall with her head and chest covered in blood and bruise marks made me sick to my stomach.

Under the picture, labeled in large pink letters, was the Cause of Death. The victim's body was discovered in the pool room past the locker rooms in the northernmost building of the first stage. The estimated time of death is 6:30 PM. The victim was repeatedly bashed with a hammer in the throat, head, and abdominal region. There are several broken ribs, one of which pierced the victim's lung. Suffocating on blood is suspected to be the cause of death. Due to the lack of live reactions, it is expected the victim died during the initial attacks. No other external injuries are on the body, and no chemicals such as poison were detected.

I can't believe someone did this. What an unfairly cruel way to kill someone, especially a friend. Emiko may have been problematic at times, but she never deserved to die like this.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Monokuma File 1# has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I remembered the container I had in my back pocket and pulled it out. The small container had a label. The Weasley Family Superlax; designed to ensure a long visit to the bathroom. Just a sprinkle or two, and your victims will experience some hilarious BMs.

Laxatives, huh? This might not be a clue, but if he did target Emiko with this, it might be important later.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Laxatives has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Anyways, I need to investigate the body, too. Perhaps I should talk to the others first.

This is when I noticed Granberia watching me, "Shinji, I want to come with you."

I turned to her, "No problem, Granberry. Let's work for clues together. We can't let Emiko's murderer get away with their crime!" I said that, but I wasn't too sure I wanted to catch the killer, either.

The two of us headed to where Satoshi had the meeting. Satoshi, whose arm had been patched up, approached us, "Shinji, I'm sorry that I must discuss this, but you and Shinju were both absent to the festivity. I hate to consider this, but..."

I knew that might happen, "The truth is we fell asleep together and woke up past the time. 7:30. The two of us came down here to see Nico, Kibou, and Hanako. I wish I could prove it, but there's certainly no way for me to."

Satoshi sighed, "I had Shinju sent to her room so she couldn't interfere. I don't want anyone who wasn't here to get near the body."

"What if Granberia accompanies me? She was there the whole time, yes?" I queried.

Satoshi grimaced for a moment, "Fine. As long as you two are together."

I thought for a moment, "Satoshi, so who wasn't around?"

Satoshi walked over to his list and checked the check-ins and check-outs, "Takeshi, Shinju, you, Nari, and Koneko never showed up."

Granberia spoke for them, "Koneko and Nari went to play a game together. They notified Mayu and I, and we can both confirm we saw them on their way off."

Satoshi looked over some more, "The people who signed out... Yoshikazu came back and forth regularly to deliver food to and from the kitchen or to get more supplies from the supermarket. Takumi left very early on and we haven't seen him since, and Emiko left at around 6:25. She said she felt sick to her stomach..."

That quickly clicked in my mind. I pulled the bottle from my back pocket, "Takumi had these laxatives in his room. The door was open, and he was missing."

Satoshi took it from me and inspected it, "They could easily have been planted, correct?"

"I saw him with it before the barbecue. He told me he was going to spice hers up, and I kicked him out before he could mess with the food. Kaz even put the food through the garbage disposal after," I informed him of the entire incident.

"And why didn't you inform me earlier!? Your recklessness could have cost Emiko her life!" Satoshi berated me. I had never seen him so upset before, "I..."

Granberia took the sign in sheet from him and read it, "Kenji was also missing from the party during the time of the murder."

Kibou noticed our conversation and jumped in, "He refused to take part. Was afraid of me. Hanako can confirm his location, though. He and her were talking to each other through walkie talkies. I even pranked him a bit, hehe."

"That does not excuse his absence nor verify his innocence," Satoshi replied with a brusque attitude.

I wrote up a list of everyone and discarded the people unable to commit the crime. That just left myself, Shinju, Yoshikazu, Takeshi, Takumi, Nari, Koneko, and Kenji, though I doubted the latter.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Hanako's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! The Sign-in Sheet has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Only then did I speak to Kibou myself, "Were you with Emiko during the party? Can you detail more of what happened before she left?"

Kibou nodded, though she still seemed shaken up over the whole event, "Well..."

Emiko, Kibou, Hanako, Granberia, Mayu, and Kenji sat together. After Yoshikazu passed out all of the dishes to them, Kenji picked up his ribs covered in barbecue sauce, "I'll take these to my room if you don't mind."

Hanako tugged on his shirt, "But Kenji..."

Kenji sighed and handed her a walkie talkie from his pocket, "I programmed these so we could talk even if I'm not near you. I'm kind of worried about this whole group barbecue and all, but I'll be here in a millisecond if anything happens."

Hanako grabbed the talkie and smiled gently at Kenji, "Thank you, Kenji. I appreciate your concern."

Kenji blushed wildly at this point, "Don't think too much on it. I am just being a gentleman, I assure you."

Kenji trudged off towards his room, to which Emiko took as a sign to dig into her food. The rest of the girls all tried it as well, "This is delicious!" Kibou exclaimed, "Kaz, you've outdone yourself!"

Kaz bowed in reverence, "Your welcome, my lady. I held myself to even higher standards for the evening."

At this moment, Takumi, who had been watching Emiko eat, stood up, knocking a container of soy sauce over, covering the ground, "Ah, crap!"

Satoshi shook his head, "Smooth move, Takumi. Can you not make such a mess?"

Kaz handed Takumi a towel, "It is fine, Master Hondo. I will excuse myself to the market to get another bottle, stat." Kaz darted off before Satoshi could stop him.

Daisuke laughed, "Ah, good old Kaz. It's fine, Satoshi. Before this night is over, I'll make him take a break."

Satoshi sighed before giving in and returning the gesture, "Thanks, Daisuke. Kaz is a great friend; I know why Shinji got so emotional about it earlier."

Takumi cleaned himself off and walked over to sign out, "Going somewhere, Takumi?" Nico, who was sitting next to Akihiko, questioned him.

Takumi shrugged, "Not really feeling it, you know? I might be back later."

While we continued laughing, Emiko suddenly groaned in pain, "Oh, god!"

"Are you alright?" Hanako asked, giving her a very worried look.

Emiko laughed it off for a moment, but that seemed to only further her sudden uncomfortable circumstances, "Ah, yeah. I just, I'm going to visit the little lady's room." Emiko stood up and quickly signed out before walking away.

"Why is she headed towards the pool?" Nico brought up another good observation, "We all have bathrooms in our cottages, right?"

Akihiko shook his head, "Her cottage is further, though."

Satoshi added, "It's safer, though. Maybe she just doesn't want to clean it later."

Kibou elbowed Satoshi lightly, "Gross, Satoshi." Satoshi looked offended.

I nodded, "So Emiko fled the scene after eating, and Takumi had left earlier. And she went to the pool bathrooms instead of her cottage. That is very useful information."

Kibou didn't smile, "...I hope so. I just can't believe that someone..." she broke down into tears again.

Satoshi walked over and held her close to his chest, "I'll protect you, Kibou. We'll find him. Just have hope in your heart!"

Kibou stopped sniffling and clung to him.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Kibou's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I decided to check something else. I asked, "Satoshi, do you have the all access keys? I need to go inside Emiko's cottage."

Satoshi hesitated before pulling the ring of keys out of his pocket and handing it to me, "Key 13. Don't misuse these."

Granberia grabbed my side, "I'll kill him if he does."

"You're joking, right?" I asked. Granberia's silence and deadpan stare frightened me.

We jogged over to Emiko's cottage and I unlocked the door. As we stepped inside, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. All of her stuff was cleanly organized and meticulous. She clearly was very particular about how she arranged her personal belongings.

Granberia went inside the bathroom and called out, "Shinji. The toilet in here is broken."

I followed her in and noticed that it was in pieces. The remnants of some firecrackers remained, probably lifted from the supermarket, "Oh..."

This reminded me of what Emiko had told me yesterday. She said, "Takumi decided to play a prank on me, and I'm furious with the little bastard. Apparently, he took my last few jokes personally, and decided to pay me back by wrecking my cottage. So I need your help."

I told Granberia this, and she thought about it, "So Takumi blew up her toilet. That's hilarious."

That was when it clicked. If this was broken...?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Emiko's Bathroom has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

As we stepped out, Kenji approached Granberia and I, "Shinji! I have invaluable info!"

"Kenji, where have you been!?" I ran over to him and hugged him, "I thought you might have been-"

He pushed me off of him, "Alright, alright. I'm not going to get killed by some petty murderer. Now listen! I have a nice recording!"

Kenji pulled out his phone, to which Granberia asked, "Where were you?"

"After I left the party, I set up a stake out in the courtyard. Since my talkies have limited range, I couldn't use it from the cottage," he sighed, "So I hid out there and had a couple of tripods set up. Observed them from my computer, and I recorded this!"

Kenji pressed play, and the video, playing horizontally, showed Shinju walking towards the pool room alone. The timer said that it was around 6:15.

What was this? "Shinju was asleep with me in my room, though!" I protested, but the video was clear. I could see her very clearly from the distance of about ten feet, and if Kenji were to have faked this, it would have taken longer than a day or two.

Kenji patted me on the shoulder, "Sorry, man. She snuck out. After that, my cameras were compromised. At around 6:20, I lost my feed. Wind knocked them over." He pulled out a shattered tripod lens to prove it, "Cost me a pretty penny, too."

I couldn't prove the video was fake, so I merely sighed in resignation, "I'll take note of this, Kenji. Keep looking, though."

Kenji nodded and stalked off to do his own thing.

Granberia pulled on my shirt, "Let's find his tripod. Just to confirm."

I nodded, and we sped over to the courtyard.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Kenji's Recording has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Arriving at the courtyard, I noticed the destroyed tripod. We walked over and Granberia picked it up. The legs had been bent out of shape and the lens had been knocked straight into concrete.

"Someone did a number on this. Could wind really have done this?" I asked.

Granberia noticed something I never would have, though, "Look, here." she pointed to a pink stain on the edge and a strand of blue fabric, "This is..." she picked up the loose strand and handed it to me, "Jeans. If the blood is from the same place, we have our culprit."

I understood what she meant, "It wasn't the wind that broke this."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Broken Tripod has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

"Maybe we should speak to Kaz. He was moving around a lot; maybe he saw Shinju too," I proposed.

The two of us headed over to the pool, where Yoshikazu and Mayu were talking just outside, "Kaz, hey."

The duo turned to us, and I waved, "Yes, Master Kizami?" Kaz greeted me with his usual politeness, though he seemed shaken up by Emiko's death, "I would normally be more prepared for requests, but I am feeling light-headed."

I assuaged his worries, "Not here for that. I just wanted to ask if you knew about Emiko's ruined bathroom."

Yoshikazu stared blankly for a moment, "Oh, that. I believe she made a request of me to fix it, but I just haven't had the time. The barbecue, and then Shizue's latest costume really took up all of my time. I was even unable to attend the laundry yesterday. I'm so behind, and now..."

Granberia walked over and patted him on the side, "It's okay, Kaz. We know you're trying your hardest."

Mayu walked over to me, "Kenji showed us some disconcerting footage. Shinju may have actually been involved in this case, though I am loath to admit it."

I didn't want to consider that a possibility, "Kaz. Did you see her wandering around?"

Kaz shook his head, "I kept to the market and courtyard, I'm afraid. I never caught hide nor hair of her."

I nodded, "Still, that says a lot. Whomever went after Emiko had to have been absent."

Kaz's eyes went wide, "I did see Kenji sitting atop a tree in the courtyard however. He seemed to be recording something with a tripod. I also noticed Takumi run through there, but these events happened before the murder."

Granberia glanced at me, "That might be enough."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Yoshikazu's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Granberia noticed that the two locker rooms were still open, "Hey, what's up with that?"

"Monokuma unlocked them for our investigation. There's no obvious clues in them, though," Mayu discussed her thoughts, "

This was when Monokuma arrived out of nowhere, "Actually, I have just the thing!" I screamed, to which Granberia placed her hand over my mouth to shut me up, "My adoring fans! My heart is melting!"

"Shut up and talk, bear," Granberia's deadpan attitude towards him was so cool. I envied to brush off our headmaster like she did.

Monokuma frowned, but he didn't stay upset for long, "Ta-da! Entrance times! I said I recorded the times that people used the locker rooms, right? I hope so... Anyways, I can't say whose handbooks were used, but I can give you the times for tonight!"

Monokuma disappeared as we heard a ding, and we checked our handbooks.

A new page labeled 'Locker Excursions' was highlighted.

6:18 Entrance, Girl's. 6:21 Exit, Girl's. 6:26 Entrance, Girl's. 6:28 Entrance, Girl's. 6:44 Exit, Boy's.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Locker Room Excursions has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Mayu was the first to notice the oddities, "Let us first presume that Shinju was the first entrance. If she did leave, the next would be Emiko. But she never left, which means these others are all likely to belong to the killer."

Granberia caught on much faster than I did, "They had to have a boy's handbook and a girl's handbook."

Yoshikazu's eyes widened, "That... But why would they use both?"

Mayu shook her head, "No idea. We didn't find any conclusive evidence in either. If they knew these times were to be given out, though, then maybe they did it to disrupt our search for clues."

Granberia motioned to the locker rooms, "Let's investigate here first, Shinji."

We decided to investigate the boy's room first. It was clean. All of the lockers were safely locked, and nothing looked disturbed. As I looked around, I noticed the laundry, "Kaz hasn't had time, huh?"

Granberia investigated the laundry, lifting the hamper lid off and tossing clothes out. Nothing too exciting, though the way she casually pulled out underwear and sweaty gym shorts surprised me. eventually, she must have hit jackpot, "Shinji!"

I walked over and she pulled out a shirt, soaked in blood. I recognized it, too; it was Takumi's favorite shirt. The Maizono one, "This is..."

"Hidden at the bottom. Someone did have a reason for coming in here," Granberia spelled it out for me, "Meaning the killer needed access to both. Maybe it was to confuse us, but this is definitely important."

I noticed the stains were oddly spread but, but I didn't worry about that now, "Let's check the other room, just in case."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Bloody Shirt has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

The two of us hurried into the girl's room and inspected it from top to bottom. I didn't notice anything, and we searched for a long while. Eventually, someone came inside, "Granberry. Shinji."

Koneko was there, and she didn't look too enthused, "According to Satoshi, I'm a risk. I can't go near the body."

I knew that feeling, "Being distrusted hurts. Shinju and I... Well, I don't know anymore..."

Koneko walked over and hugged me, "It's okay, Shinji," I hugged her back before we let go, "Do you think she...?"

"Absolutely not. I'd never suspect Shinju of killing someone," I neglected to entertain the very notion, "I'm going to prove her innocence."

Koneko's ears perked up at that, "At least you're staying positive."

While we talked for a bit, Granberia went to the lockers, "Guys? This one's locked."

She was directing our attention to a locked locker in the bottom right corner, barely out of sight, "So?" I didn't get it.

Koneko looked over, "But there's already nine for us. We chose ours in the center," She pointed to the girls' lockers.

Granberia took this as a sign to go ahead and placed her ear to the combination lock as she began fumbling with it to unlock it. With a little bit of time, it popped open and the lock tumbled to the floor. Granberia carefully opened the door and pulled out a handbook.

"Whose is it?" Koneko jumped the gun, picking it up and turning it on, "Shinju Sakyubasu. Why's it in here?"

"I'd better ask her," I decided, "Let's go."

The three of us grabbed the handbook and headed down to Shinju's cottage to discuss this with her.

"Don't mention we have it," I whispered to Granberia, "Just in case."

"Do you suspect her?" She calmly implied.

I wanted to act offended, but I was too tired to be theatrical, "Just do as I asked, okay?"

We knocked on the door, and after a moment or two, Shinju answered, "Hey... Sorry I took so long. I'm just...not feeling well." She had clearly been crying, which pulled on my heart strings.

Granberia spoke up first, "There's nothing to worry about, Shinju. Your lover boy here is working himself to the bone to prove your innocence."

I looked away from the two of them, "That's stretching it... Anyways, Shinju, I wanted to ask. When we were asleep, did you leave?" she perked up as I said that, "Maybe around 6:20 or so. To the pool?"

Shinju was completely surprised about how I came across that information, "How do you-"

"Kenji recorded it by accident," Granberia addressed her query, "We need to know the truth."

She awkwardly shifted around for a moment before heaving a sigh and confessing, "I lost my handbook. Yesterday, Mayu, Shizue, and I went swimming, and I must have left it in the locker room or something. I woke up in your room and went to find it. I asked Nari, and she and I went to check the locker room."

"I remember that," Koneko confirmed her story, "They came back real quick and then Shinju left for your place. At least, Nari said that."

I pulled the handbook out and handed it to Shinju, "It was in the girl's locker room, locked by a combination lock. At the very least, this proves that it was left there. Granberia, I think it's time we investigate the body itself."

Granberia and I left Koneko with Shinju, who opted to stay with her to keep her company.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Shinju's Handbook has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Shinju's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

As we moved back towards the pool, I noticed Takumi was seated at the courtyard. He seemed to be using a first aid kit, and he was bandaging up his leg, "Takumi, you alright?"

Takumi screamed in surprise, "Bwha!? Shinji, don't scare me!"

Granberia pointed to his pants leg, which looked torn, "Did you cut yourself? On a tripod by chance?"

Takumi's confusion was clear, "I ain't cutting myself on aliens."

Hearing Granberia grind her teeth, I decided to step in, "We mean Kenji's three-legged camera."

"Oh, that... I mean, I have no idea what you mean, hahaha!" Takumi awkwardly laughed, "I just hurt myself in my bathtub is all. Sharp, you know."

Uh-huh, "Takumi, what were you doing when Emiko was killed?" I further quizzed him.

Takumi never rose to his feet faster, though he stumbled when he put weight on his bad leg, "She's dead!? Since when!?"

"Didn't you hear the announcement?" I wanted to just walk away, but his testimony was imperative.

Takumi sweated a bit before he answered me, "N-no. I left the party early to take a nap, you know? Nothing else, I swear! I can't believe that she's dead, man... I was mad at her, but..."

Granberia nudged me, "Let's go. That's enough for now."

I wanted to ask more, but time was of the absolute essence, "...Then we'll see you later, Takumi. Stay safe."

Takumi stopped us before we left, "Actually, I found something important. When I was walkin' by the laundry room earlier, I found this," Takumi handed me a key, "It was left in the door. Weird, right?"

I gingerly took it and thanked him before heading to the pool.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takumi's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Torn Jeans has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Laundry Key has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Finally, we arrived at the scene of the crime. Daisuke and Akihiko stood on either side of her corpse. The sight still made me queasy, but I had to investigate it in more detail.

Daisuke bellowed, "Shinji, nice to see you! Just so you know, Satoshi's still concerned about letting you near the body. Since, you know, circumstances are what they are... I trust you and Sis, though."

Akihiko didn't say anything, and I realized he too must have been shaken up, "Aki, are you okay?"

He briskly retorted, "I don't wish to discuss anything at this time. Emiko meant a lot to me, and I'm still coming to terms with it..." He didn't say anything more, ignoring my presence.

Looking over at Emiko, Daisuke decided to fill us in, "Her wounds are all blunt weapon damage. That person Shizue is acting like now came in and did a full autopsy. Satoshi was reluctant at first, but she talked down to him and forced him out of her way. She's a smart one."

"Did she tell you anything else?" Granberia took the lead.

Daisuke scratched his chin for a moment, "Oh, right! There was blood on her right hand. It was broken, but there was blood on her pointing finger. Could be she did write down that name, but..."

Shinju, written as clear as day in blood. And if there was blood on her finger, "Could she reach from the floor?"

"Yeah..." Daisuke commented, "Seems like she moved herself closer," he pointed towards the area just to the right of her body, where blood had been smeared a bit, "Looks like she crawled that way, I'd think."

I looked over at the bloodied hammer, "How much does it weigh?"

Granberia walked over and lifted it with relative ease, "Thirty pounds at most. To swing this... Someone strong. Satoshi's heart couldn't take it, and that rules out Kibou as well. Not that they were suspects by now..."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Blunt Trauma Wounds has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Dying Message has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Bloodied Hammer has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I heard a familiar, comforting voice behind me, "Shinji, I wish to relay some things to you." I turned to see Naoto casually smirking at me, "I don't intend to use this personality for the rest of the game, but it was certainly interesting to use these detective abilities for something. Though I detest that it took Emiko's life to make myself useful..."

"Don't feel that way, okay? I'm sure she would appreciate you working so hard to uncover her killer's identity." I reassured her.

Granberia yawned, "I'm gonna nap before the trial. Don't die." She walked off, yawning once more.

Naoto and I slowly walked to my cottage while she revealed her information, "During the event, I arrived and signed in, though I kept my distance from the others, partially out of my own shyness. Since I was less distracted, I noticed some things the others didn't. Which leads me to my clues. Emiko's food was messed with."

I grimaced upon hearing that, "I suspected, but that points very strongly to someone..."

"After some prodding and being forced to pin him, Takeshi relented. He swore that he stayed in his room the entire time. He even revealed he had locked his handbook away the day he got it, and I confirmed it by opening his locked briefcase. It hadn't been touched, and was covered in dust," Naoto handed me a picture to further confirm that.

"Well, I guess that rules him out. Unless he stole another one..." I couldn't rule that possibility out, but it still looked unlikely.

Naoto handed me two more pictures; one of the bloodied shirt, and one of Emiko's body, "One thing that immediately aroused my suspicion was the blood stains by her body. The trajectory of her wounds suggest she was beaten with the hammer traveling towards her from the left. This directly contradicts the blood, which implies she moved to the left towards the wall. Why would she inch towards her attacker's weapon?"

"Maybe she was just confused and desperate?" I knew that was a bad suggestion, but I had to be thorough.

She shook her head, clearly displeased, "More importantly, her hand was broken. Every bone in her hand nearest to the wall was broken. Why would that be?"

I thought on that, "She held it out? To try and block the blows?"

"And if that was the case, how could she later use her own blood to write with a shattered hand? If the killer broke it because she wrote the message, they would have erased it if it implicated them," she was on fire now, "I think this is sufficient information to determine the killer."

"What about that shirt photo?" I pointed to it.

She handed it over to me, "I examined the stains on it. There were irregularities. The way that the hammer caused damage, the pattern for the blood should be different. From what I can tell, this shirt was not worn by the killer."

"But is it Emiko's blood?"

"I can't test it to say for certain, but unless another body turns up soon, it's reasonable to believe the copious amounts of blood here suggests it is," she lost that spark in her eye, coming to the realization that Emiko was killed.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Barbecue Food has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takeshi's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Odd Bloodstain has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Emiko's Hand has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Bloody Shirt has been updated in the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

The monitors lit up as a familiar noise echoed out.

*Ding dong, bing bong!*

Monokuma happily greeted us with his never endingly annoying announcement, "Alrighty, guys, it's finally time! That's right; it's time for the first class trial! The meeting place is on top of the central stage. But watch your step! It's an elevator to our secret trial grounds! I'll see you soon!"

Naoto frowned upon hearing that announcement, "You heard the bear. Let's go to the trial. Hopefully, we have enough evidence to get through this."

The two of us found our way to the stage, where everyone was standing.

"Stupid bitch... Figured you'd kill someone," Takeshi yelled at Shinju.

Nico seemed offended, "Damn it, Takeshi! I never said she did it!"

Takumi shrugged, "Eh, it's probably her. Kenji, you believe me, right?"

"I have no stock in an imbecile like you. I just think that she did it," Kenji fired back, "I've got proof."

Satoshi forced himself into the conversation, "Would everyone be quiet, already!? We'll hear her out in the trial. Now shut up and get on stage!" He was being surprisingly forceful, but it also felt like it was necessary right now.

The last of us jumped onto the platform before some loud mechanical noises started emanating from below us and the stage descended below ground. The last thing we saw before a roof closed above us was the beautiful, starry sky.

The elevator continued descending for a while before it stopped and the doors opened up. We all stepped inside the dark room, albeit very reluctantly. The lights flashed on, and we discovered that the trial room looked similarly to the first killing game. The red carpets and the fancy court stands made of smooth mahogany looked inviting, though we knew it was a trap.

Each of us walked up and took a podium that Monokuma pointed out for us. From the top under the chair Monokuma seated himself in, and going clockwise; Mayumi, a placard with Emiko's face crossed out on it, Akihiko, Yoshikazu, Daisuke, Shizue/Naoto, Kenji, Hanako, Shinju, Nico, Shinji, Kibou, Satoshi, Takeshi, Koneko, Granberia, Nari, and Takumi. We later found it was organized alphabetically by our talents; from Archer to Womanizer.

The background had plenty of empty stands where a theoretical audience would have been. Except this time, Fuuko was in the audience, watching us ever so casually.

The other girl from before, Misery, Kiyo, and Izuru were also there, though Kenta was absent. Probably too good for us or some crap.

Monokuma redirected our attention quickly, though, "Get in gear, folks! The full killing game is about to begin!"

We glanced around at each other from our assigned seats. The harsh reality that one of us was going to die so very soon was finally setting it.

If our hope to survive wasn't enough to overcome the despair of Emiko's murder, it was all ending here. If I failed here, then everyone I know and love would die! I can't screw this up!


	22. Chapter One Trial

Author's Note: I think this worked out well. Trivia time; Nico was originally the first victim. His self-awareness was a big factor in the original 'script', but it was switched up for this version to make it more impactful.

 **Chapter One: Doting Detective, Secret Slayer  
** **TRIAL**

And so on that fateful, dreary day, our first true battle against each other, one for truth and justice, between hope and despair, began, sending us on a journey we may never recover from. It's hard to say whether our sins would permit us to consider ourselves humanity after, but the philosophy class could wait.

Before we could begin, someone had to explain the rules again, as if we would forget that easily.

"Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for 'whodunnit.' If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person..." Monokuma stretched the last word out for emphasis, "I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this resort!"

Fuuko groaned from up in the stands, "So boring. Hurry up, I need to get my nails done right," she went back to filing her nails ever so casually. She didn't even consider what would happen if she lost.

Satoshi looked around at everyone standing at their podiums, "Someone here disturbed our resort life and committed an atrocious crime. Someone here is a killer."

Monokuma confirmed this in his annoyingly upbeat tone, "That's right! Such a tragic truth, right? By the way, this class trial is gonna be 100 percent fair, so there's no need to worry. I'm the type who hates favoritism and prejudice... Usually. Maybe. Now let's begin!"

"How do we even have a trial?" Takumi complained, "We're high school students, bastard. None of us know what we're doing."

Koneko pointed to Shizue, still the personification of another, "You're a detective, now, right?"

Naoto nodded, "In fact, I have already determined the killer's identity."

"Whaaaat!?" Everyone cried in unison.

"Then tell us already and be done with these theatrics!" Satoshi urged her to reveal who it was.

Naoto shook her head, "And if I'm killed? Or unable to play detective next time? If you rely too closely on me, you'll never survive if I die."

I decided to help her out, "She's right. If she's incapacitated for whatever reason, we have to be able to handle ourselves. If we talk it out, we can figure it out."

Takeshi snarled, "You're only siding with her to stay out of the dog house."

"I'm not going to make your mother sleep outside," I rebuttled.

"Snap!" Kenji made sound effects, "Gonna need a burn heal for that one."

Satoshi scratched the back of his head, "Then what do we start with? We can't just accuse people out of nowhere."

Daisuke cracked his neck once, twice, before taking the stage, "Then let's start off easy. The murder weapon for this trial! What was it!?"

Akihiko growled, "Isn't that obvious to anyone!? Why would we even need to-"

Granberia quickly shut him down, "Some of us were not allowed to approach the crime scene, if you recall. They might need this information, don't you think?"

Aki grumbled a bit before admitting, "Go ahead, waste our time."

"Don't get mad at us your girlfriend died. Maybe you shoulda protected her better," Takeshi curtly stated his thoughts.

"Why, you-" Aki moved as if to assault Takeshi.

"Stop!" Yoshikazu bellowed out towards Aki, "If you fight here, Monokuma might execute you. How would Emiko want that!?"

Aki stopped in his tracks and just punched his podium with an angry yell. After a moment of shaking, he finally spoke, "...Fine."

"So, what was the murder weapon?" Koneko asked, tail swishing back and forth, "I forgot to read the file, hehe!"

Takumi snickered, "Maybe someone killed her with a toilet seat. That'd be a twist."

"Sore wa chigau yo!" I shouted out, for no apparent reason, "I mean...Uh. The weapon at the crime scene was a bloodied hammer. About thirty pounds, a heavy one to be sure."

Naoto confirmed, "Her wounds would also suggest that it was the hammer. The force and the weight applied mean the killer used it with clear intent. They did not hold back."

"So this killer knew it was do or die, huh? That means they must be crafty, huh?" Daisuke commented.

Granberia elaborated, "Kibou couldn't lift the object. I even had her test before we came here."

"My heart condition wouldn't allow me to use that weapon so effectively," Satoshi added, "Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible for me without help."

"Oh, that's a good point. Monokuma, if there is an accomplice, the one who came up with the plan is the killer, right?" Nico asked, finally joining the conversation.

Monokuma nodded enthusiastically, "Meowth, that's right!"

Nico smirked, "So is there one now or not?"

"Well, I shouldn't have to tell you. If I didn't, there'd be more tension!" Monokuma chuckled, "Losing on the first trial would be so boring, though! There were no accomplices in this trial. Your welcome. And remember; I won't lie during trials. I might obscure the truth for fun, but not a lie will leave these lips!"

"I trust you so much..." Nico rolled his eyes.

Nari, who had not been allowed to see Emiko's corpse for herself, gripped the podium, "Bear! You know who the killer is, right!?"

Monokuma shrugged, "Of course I do! That's what the cameras are for, duhhhh! I thought you were smart..."

Nari's face grew dark, "Then tell me who it is."

"Hm?" Monokuma tilted his head.

"Tell me which bastard here was selfish enough to murder her! Tell me so I can kill them myself!" Nari screamed this out, tears running down her face as she slammed her fist onto the podium so hard that wood chipped off and her hand began to bleed, "Tell me why my best friend had to die! Tell me...why..."

"Nari..." I tried to talk to her, but she ignored me.

Instead, she sank down to her knees and cried, "Why I... had to lose...her..."

None of us knew what to say or do, so we just stood there in silence for a bit, "No can do, Nari. This is a fair trial, remember!?"

Nari eventually stopped herself from crying before solemnly standing up. The life in her face was gone, her eyes much like a fish that suffocated on land, "...Fine..."

Satoshi grew angry over this, "See what you did, killer!? Selfish bastard!"

Takeshi laughed, "Man, you're just mad I was right. I told you you'd flip when a corpse was found. You stupid punk!"

Takumi decided to intervene, "Takeshi. Leave him alone."

He turned to Takumi, a smirk on his face, "Or what? You think you scare me? What could a worthless, friendless, ugly pissant like you ever do to hurt me?"

Kenji shook his head, "Enough! This arguing gets us nowhere! Let's just discuss the evidence like civilized human beings for once!"

"That's rich, coming from you," Takeshi started up again, "A delusional retard who thinks he's so interesting. If only your parents had accident insurance..."

Hanako talked for once, shocking everyone with her tone, "Leave him alone."

Takeshi chuckled, that evil glint in his eye, "What? Afraid I might hurt his whore feelings? Maybe I'll beat him up again and let you watch. Not like you could stop m-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Hanako's response caught us off guard, "Don't you DARE talk about him like that!"

"Whoah!? Where did THAT come from!?" Nico squeaked out in his nerdy voice, in pure shock and awe.

Satoshi readjusted his shirt before spitting to the floor and turning to Takeshi, " Look at what you accomplished; causing drama. I tried and tried to keep everyone safe, and all you do is mock us! All you do is judge! Why your mother didn't smother you at birth I'll NEVER know."

Takeshi finally stopped talking, "Fine. I'll be quiet. Fuck's sake..."

"Thank you..." I added, stressing him to quiet down, "Actually, no. About damn time."

Daisuke reigned in the conversation, "Alright, enough bickering. The murder weapon was a hammer, and Satoshi and Kibou couldn't wield it. But there must be other things to lessen the number of suspects. Anyone?"

I nodded, "Satoshi had something prepared for this contingency. The Sign-in sheet. According to it, everyone was at the party and had a perfect alibi. Except for those who never showed and those who left early. Koneko, Nari, Takumi, Emiko, Yoshikazu, Takeshi, Kenji, Shinju, and myself. So everyone else is safe."

Daisuke sighed, "Doesn't make it that much easier on us. Just means we have to accuse someone else."

Kibou shook her head, "I don't want to have to do this!"

"We have to," Aki clenched his fist, "If we let the killer walk, how could we forgive ourselves? What would Emiko say!?"

"Wait! What if she did it!?" Takumi exclaimed, to our chagrin, "She's an option, right!?"

"...Are...Are you serious right now?" Nico asked, twitching with rage.

Takumi nodded, "She left early, yeah! And she could lift it, yeah!?"

Oh my goooood. Was this what Yasuhiro was like? "Takumi... She couldn't have."

"Why the hell not!?" He yelled.

Naoto sighed, "One thing homicide detectives are trained to do is notice live reactions. If someone is alive and attacked or otherwise inflicted with severe pain, the body would react. Some of the wounds were inflicted after death. How could Emiko have done that?"

Takumi thought for a moment, "Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Sorry for wasting your time."

We all sighed in relief.

"What if it was her ghost!?" He added on to his previous argument.

"The stupid, it huuuurts!" Kibou was the one to say this. Wow, it must be bad.

Kenji shook his head, "Nope. I'm too Asian for this shit!"

Takumi sighed, "Guess my joke fell a little flat, huh? Just trying to lighten the mood, I guess. Continue."

I turned to Granberia when he said that. She looked back at me," A little flat?" I joked.

Koneko had to hold Granberia back from assaulting me, waving her arms about to try and break free, "I swear, I won't kill him! I'll just murder him a few times!"

I tried to calm her down, "Come on, Granberry, it makes you unique! I like your flat chest; it's cute!"

Granberia struggled to kill me even harder, "I will end your life, you bastard! I'm not flat!"

I said without thinking, "I could build Minecraft houses on you."

"So we have our eight suspects..." Hanako thought on it, "I'll bet it was Takeshi."

"Nah," I said, a bit disappointed, "Naoto forced his confession. He was in his own room the entire time."

Nari growled, "Any proof of that?"

I handed out the picture of his unused handbook, "He hasn't used this in a long while, either. See how it's covered in dust."

"That doesn't prove anything... What would his handbook matter?" Takumi argued, actually making a relatively good point.

Naoto opened up her handbook, "Check your handbooks," everyone pulled theirs out, including Takeshi, who had actually brought his, "Locker Room Excursions. If Emiko entered at 6:26, the last two are the killer's. Thus, they have access to the boy's room."

"So if Takeshi didn't use his handbook, he's exempt," I added.

Yoshikazu voiced a concern, "How do we know for certain Emiko entered at 6:26?"

I pointed to Kibou, "Kibou specifically said she left at around 6:25. If she made her way over as quickly as she left, that seems reasonable."

Kibou nodded, "My watch definitely said 6:25."

"As did mine," Kenji confirmed, "Hanako notified me of her departure at that time, as well. I didn't pay mind to it, since I was checking my broken tripod."

Daisuke decided to confirm this, "So our times here suggest the killer followed after at 6:28. If Takeshi can be excluded, Kenji, Shinju, Nari, Shinji, Yoshikazu, Koneko, and Takumi are still suspect."

Nari glared at him, "I hope you're not suggesting that I killed her..."

"Why so defensive, huh? You seem kinda guilty when you act like that, you know?" Takumi commented carelessly.

"Koneko can verify my location. Since there are no accomplices, it means she wouldn't go out of her way to life for me, right?"

Satoshi sighed, "If she does confirm your location, we must consider it an alibi."

Koneko nodded, "Nari and I went to her cottage to hang out and play some Neko Paradise game. She left for a bit, but she came back at 6:23 or so. Before the murder happened."

Nari also redirected the conversation, "More so, Koneko never left my cottage. We both have solid alibis for the time of the murder."

"Actually..." Hanako looked back at the locker room times, "Doesn't it have to be a guy? Or at least, someone with a guy's handbook?"

We all looked back at the excursion times, and Mayu, who had been strangely silent, admitted, "As I suspected. Someone had access to two handbooks. Whoever does has to be the killer, right? That would be safe to assume."

"I know someone who had access to two," Granberia prepared herself for a serious condemnation, "And with other information, it could hold up."

"Granberia? What are you-" I started to object, but someone else cut me off.

Shinju, who had also been more on the sidelines this entire discussion, finally addressed this issue, "You mean me, right? I was sleeping in Shinji's room. He can't confirm I was there the entire time, and I could have taken his handbook, right?"

"Exactly!" Kenji exclaimed, "I even have proof you went to the pool!"

"What!?" Daisuke exclaimed, somewhat concerned, "I wasn't told that. Sis, is it true!?"

Knowing Kenji had to get this out there, I decided to confirm, "He showed it to me as well. Shinju made her way towards the pool about ten minutes before Emiko showed up. At 6:20, Kenji's tripod, which he had set up in the courtyard to record, was broken."

Mayu agreed, "As much as it pains me to consider this an option, I saw the footage as well," she frowned, "That, her lack of an alibi, and her access to Shinji's handbook almost confirms it by itself."

"Actually, she has a partial alibi!" I decided to argue that point, "Nari walked her to the locker room to help her get in."

"Why couldn't she get in?" Kenji asked, annoyed that his culprit wasn't accepting her guilt.

Naoto interrupted, "Yesterday, Mayu, Shinju, and I went for a swim. According to what Shinju told me, she suspected she left her handbook somewhere in the area. She didn't realize this until she checked for it on her person in Shinji's cottage."

Nari pulled out her handbook, "She came to me and asked for me to let her into the locker room to look. We checked there, and the pool area, but there wasn't anything there. That entrance and exit, the first on the excursion list, that was my handbook."

"After it didn't work out, I walked with Nari to her cottage and headed back to Shinji's to look for it there. When I couldn't find it, I just went back to sleep next to him," Shinju admitted, a light blush on her cheeks.

Kenji pointed out, "But you don't have an alibi for the murder time itself, right?" Shinju nodded, "I knew it! My theory holds true!"

Satoshi glared at Shinju, "And then there's the dying message. Your name, written in blood, clear as day."

Kibou joined her boyfriend in his accusation, "Emiko managed to get the truth out to try and save us!"

"Uh, no," I completely dismissed her, "Emiko died during the initial attacks, according to our Monokuma File. And something else confirms this..."

Naoto smiled at me, giving me the go ahead.

"Why are you defending her, man?" Aki got charged up, "Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean you can get us all killed by protectin' her!"

I glared back at him, "You saw the corpse, dumbass. You should know this next bit; Emiko's hand was broken. And it was a wound sustained when she was alive, according to Naoto's autopsy. Can you explain that?"

Akihiko rolled his eyes, "It's obvious. Shinju broke it after she saw Emiko write something."

"Your rage is blinding you! If Shinju broke Emiko's hand because of that, why wouldn't she erase her name!?" I yelled back.

Aki growled,"Maybe she was in a hurry and-"

"According to the locker room time and time of death, the killer was in the pool room for 14 minutes. That does not sound like rushing to me!" I immediately shut through his contradiction.

Takumi decided to interject, "Did she break it trying to defend herself?"

"Most likely," Naoto addressed him with a quick response, "And she couldn't very well write with a broken hand. It would be shaking too much, all the more if she was getting hammered at the same time."

"Was she drunk?" Takumi asked, misconstruing what she meant.

Kenji groaned, "I swear to drunk, Takumi..."

I redirected the conversation, "Another factor is Shinju's handbook. Granberia and I... Granberia broke into a locker in the girl's room and found Shinju's handbook inside it. Is there any reason Shinju would hide her own handbook like that?"

Kenji's eye twinkled, "A conspiracy! She hid it herself to give herself a stronger alibi! That's also why she contacted Nari for help! Obviously!"

Hanako took the attention for a moment, "This afternoon, I went for a swim to calm me down and relax before the barbecue. All the lockers were open, except for nine. No new ones were being used. I left at around four-thirty PM."

"So if she was in my room and never went to the pool until she went with Nari, then when could she have locked it away?" I asked Kenji, using this information to my own advantage.

Nari reprised her previous information, "We found nothing in the locker room. I didn't see an extra locked locker, either. I would have noticed. And if that was the only time she could have locked it up, she must not have done it."

Kenji argued, "Then she just did it when she followed Emiko in. Put it in a locker, locked it, and then committed the murder. Then she used Shinji's to leave on the other side."

Damn. That was actually a good argument. If I couldn't find more weaknesses in it, Shinju might get falsely accused. And then all of us would die her except the real killer!

 **CLASS TRIAL SUSPENDED**

Monokuma snickered, "Are you as excited to find out the killer as I am!? Who could it be!? Are your hearts racing in anticipation like mine is!?"

X Yes  
O No

"Juuuuust kidding! Of course it is! Let's get back to the main action soon! But don't forget to save!"

The scene faded to black.

*Obligatory save screen here*

Could it be that Shinju really killed Emiko? What could have been her motive? And why would she do that? Could it have been to...save me? No, she'd never be so reckless! Not again, right!? Oh, no... I refuse to believe that it's her!

That was when an unlikely hero came to our rescue, "I can confirm I did not see Shinju in the courtyard at the time of the supposed escape," Yoshikazu confirmed, "After I went to the supermarket to gather the soy sauce, I noticed Shinju and Takumi in the courtyard area. After delivering the supplies, I would on occasion pass through the courtyard. I didn't see Shinju again that night."

"So are you sayin' she never left his cottage a second time?" Aki slipped back into his country drawl.

Yoshikazu nodded, "If she did, she would have to have circumvented the entire courtyard to do so, which would have taken a lot of time."

In the stands, I noticed Fuuko was glaring down at us. I wondered what that was for, but kept it to myself. Maybe she wanted her sister to get accused?

"Even then, the evidence against Shinju is concerning..." Satoshi refused to move on.

Nari decided to redirect the subject, "What if Kenji's the killer and he stole Shinju's handbook and set up that footage? Then destroyed his tripod to make sure her leaving wasn't recorded? I mean, he never mentioned me in that footage with Shinju."

"I went ahead, but Nari followed after," Shinju remembered, "Where was that footage, Kenji!?"

"I didn't find it important," Kenji replied, "I wouldn't suspect Nari to murder her own best friend."

"Oh, is that so? Or is it 'cause you can't frame her?" Daisuke seemed irritated by Kenji's dismissive attitude.

"That's seriously suspect, Kenji," Aki added, "Why would you conveniently forget that, huh!?"

I was a bit spurned by Kenji's reckless behaviour, but I stepped in for him, "Kenji's innocent. Hanako can confirm she was communicating with him via walkie talkie around 6:30. If he was at the pool, his walkie would be out of range."

"Defending your girlfriend's biggest accuser? How valiant of you," Takeshi sarcastically complimented me.

"I'm eliminating suspects. Shinju wouldn't accuse herself, and had time to erase her name. Or frame someone else." I argued back.

"Frame?" Kibou asked.

Naoto nodded, "If Emiko's hand was broken, she wouldn't have been able to write Shinju's name so perfectly. I would presume the killer dabbed her finger in her own blood and wrote it with her hand. Why would Shinju implicate herself?"

"So we can rule out Shinju and Kenji, yeah? That just leaves Takumi, Shinji, and Yoshikazu," Mayu remembered the list from earlier and explained that bit.

Takumi smiled, "Nice, 6 out of 9 discounted. We're close to solving this mystery!"

"You're still a culprit, though," Granberia dryly replied.

Takumi scoffed at that remark, "Hah, me kill someone!? Get real!"

Kenji thought to himself, "So the killer framed Shinju, hm? Damn... I fell for that so easily!"

Shinju reassured him, "I'm not mad, Kenji. Everyone here knows they... they can't trust me."

"Enough with that down talking. You're a wonderful person, Shinju. Now stop the self-deprecation and help us solve this case," I comforted her to the best of my ability.

Hanako raised her hand, "Actually, I have a question. Why did Emiko go to the pool bathroom anyways? She left pretty suddenly..."

Satoshi snickered, "She had to release the beast, hehe." Kibou glared at him, "What?"

I pulled out a container from my back pocket, "I found this in Takumi's room. He left the door open. Super powerful laxatives. I even caught the little bastard trying to mess with Kaz's food once."

Kaz sighed, "I had to throw the dishes into the garbage disposal afterwards. Then I kept my eye on the food for the rest of the night, to ensure he couldn't do it again. I must have failed that duty."

"Why would you give her laxatives?" Nico asked, "Creep."

"No, it was just a prank, bro!" Takumi pleaded, "She covered me in sticky shit yesterday and dirtied my fave shirt! So I wanted to get her back with a little laxative joke! I swear!"

"Except that was what led her to the pool to begin with," Mayu was eyeing Takumi now, "Interesting, how that evidence connects, right?"

Takumi waved his hands back and forth, "It's just a coincidence! She could have easily gone to her own cottage!"

"No, that's wrong! Takumi, you blew up her toilet with firecrackers for a prank, you ass!" I confronted him, "Kaz can confirm, right?"

Kaz nodded, "Emiko came to me and asked me to repair it yesterday."

"That was why she covered you in caramel in the first place, Takumi," I reaffirmed my suspicions, "Which means you _knew_ she wouldn't be able to use her own bathroom!"

Koneko gasped, "Is that how he led her to the pool!? To kill her!?"

"N-n-no! I didn't do that!" Takumi yelled, "I'd never kill her!"

Takumi was the one with the laxatives, the one who destroyed her bathroom, and who was trying to taint the food. It had to be him who used them! "Takumi! I know you put laxatives into that food! Admit it!"

Takumi sweated profusely, "Alright, fine! I snuck it into her food! But I didn't kill her!"

Was this really it? Was Takumi the killer? The evidence was piling up against him. Not only that, I had even more evidence that suggested his guilt. Would I bring it against him? Condemn him to death? ...I have to follow through, though. For my waifus, for my friends, I must!

Granberia jumped the shark before me, "Takumi, there's other evidence pointing to you. You wanted revenge on Emiko. Kill her, and frame your other rival, Shinju. Great deal, huh? She pays for scarring your beautiful face, and you get to live."

Takumi yelled back, "I didn't kill her, stupid! You idiot! Dumbass! What kind of colossal dumbass would keep pestering me, huh!? Just because I'm annoying, I deserve to die now!?"

Granberia picked up his shirt, still soaked in a coat of blood, "Your favorite shirt. Found it buried in the hamper. Coincidence? Use Shinju's handbook to get in the girl's room, lock it up, kill Emiko, hide this in the boy's room since Kaz didn't do laundry, and get away scot free."

"Listen, you washboard brat! I didn't kill her; understand my words, dumbass!? Aho!" Takumi was desperately defending himself at this point. It was like a car wreck, you couldn't look away from it, no matter how bad it was.

"Takumi," he turned to me, "What about the tripod you broke!? We found strands of your jeans and blood on it! You were the dumbass that did it!"

Kenji tried to strangle Takumi, but Aki held him back, "That cost me 690 dollars, you bastard! Why the fuck did you break it!?"

Takumi cringed, "I tripped into it, okay! I was running to my cottage! I didn't want Emiko to figure out that I pranked her! That's why I left my room when Shinji went looking for me; I went to get a first aid kit, okay!?"

Wait a moment... Something just clicked.

"Takumi, was it on the way back you found that key you gave me?" I asked, staring at him expectantly.

"Key?" Satoshi asked, confused.

"Yeah, I found it in the door around then," Takumi confessed, "I just took it. What's the harm, right?"

I pulled out the laundry key, "He gave me this laundry key. Why was it in the door?"

Satoshi pulled out the key ring and counted, "Hey, it's missing. Key 20, the laundry key! Takumi, when did you steal that!?"

I shook my head, "He left the party early, remember? So he didn't take it then. And if he did take it, why would he give it to me?"

"He's an idiot," Nari bluntly rebuked me, "Of course he'd give away evidence."

I didn't agree, "So an idiot pulled this crime off? Leaving evidence behind to incriminate himself constantly? Why didn't he get rid of the tripod completely? If he was planning this, why did he stick to a laxative plan if I saw him do it, and then not try to shut me up!?"

Nari advocated her opinion, "Because he's a complete dumbass!"

"But was still able to frame Shinju so perfectly that only Kaz's testimony changed your minds?!" I further enunciated how the brilliance of the plan couldn't be an 'accident'.

"It sounds like a smart plan..." Koneko whispered, "Oh, shit, he didn't do it!"

"Oh, come on!" Takumi yelled.

Naoto laughed, "Quite amusing, Shinji. It almost sounds like you think Takumi didn't do it."

"That's preposterous!" Nari was excited to find the killer, and I guess that blinded her, too, "His shirt was covered in blood! The idiot wore it and tried to hide it!"

Naoto shot her down, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the blood stains indicate they were not worn by the killer. The shirt was more likely used to wipe the blood off of himself, and the real killer disposed of his own shirt he used for the murder. Plus, there would also be bloodstains on the pants, too, but Takumi has none on his."

"So the bastard washed his clothes!" Nari quickly refocused her argument.

I reproached her, "Nari, hold it. Satoshi, you had the keys from Yoshikazu since yesterday, yes? Did Takumi ever come close enough to you to steal them from your pocket?"

Satoshi thought back on it, "Not really. Only Kibou did. And really, I'd think only Granberia could steal it unnoticed."

Granberia added, "No accomplices. Not that I'd ever aid that tool in a murder. I don't have less brains and more boobs for him to want to work with me, anyways."

Nari took offense to that, "I have both, thank you very much!"

"Yeah you do..." I said, under my breath. She heard me despite how quiet I tried to be, "I'm agreeing with you!"

Takumi celebrated, "Yeah! I never took the key from the ring! I'm not smart enough for that!"

"Does that matter?" Nari was acting haughty again, "The laundry has nothing to do with the murder."

Boom. That was it. I knew. The killer. All along it was...

I looked over at my new suspect, "Yoshikazu?"

Yoshikazu smiled back, "Yes, Master Kizami?"

"You told Mayu and I that you had no time for the laundry, right? Making Naoto's outfit with her and setting up the barbecue?" I set up the question I needed him to answer.

Yoshikazu slowly nodded, "I remember. I have been worked so much lately. It's tiring, and this only made it worse."

"Then why is Takumi's shirt clean!?" I proclaimed my new evidence, "Emiko doused it in caramel yesterday! But there's only blood on it now! So who the hell cleaned it in the laundry room, huh?"

Satoshi came to Kaz's defense, "Takumi could hav-"

I refused to entertain him, "No, we know he didn't have the key. The only person who could have it other than you or Kibou, who both have alibis, is Shinozaki! Kaz gave you the keys; and did you count them? Or did you just assume he gave them all to you?"

"Why would I need to count them!? He's my best friend!" Satoshi was getting annoyed with me.

"So he could have kept the laundry key, washed Takumi's shirt, and used it to wipe the blood off!" Satoshi gasped in anger and annoyance, "He also couldn't wear it himself! Even more so, I saw Kaz in the laundry room when I ran off to get him! Meaning he likely used the key to get in himself! He was washing his bloodied clothes to hide the evidence and forgot to take the key out when he ran off to find Emiko's body!"

Naoto nodded, "I saw Kaz leave the laundry room. I was watching Shinji panic after he discovered the corpse. I suspected Kaz, and all of the later evidence I found pointed to him. He could have gotten the murder weapon and the lock from the market during his trips, stashed them at the kitchen, and waited for the moment to strike."

Granberia joined in, "Kaz, you said you watched over the food yourself, right? So Takumi couldn't put laxatives in it again? If you did that and threw away the original food, why did she get sick still!?"

Takeshi decided he loved to watch the world burn, "You said you can detect oddities in food, huh? So you knew from the start which food had the laxatives in it. Why go through the trouble ruining it all? To make it look like he didn't use it for his own murder plan!"

Kaz merely gave us a depressed scowl, "Really, to accuse me? I have worked tirelessly for all of your benefit, and my reward is this? Being accused of murdering Emiko? Framing Takumi and Shinju? How secretive do you think me to be?"

"You could pull it off," Aki said, bluntly, "You're definitely smart enough, unlike Takumi."

Nico questioned the group, "If it's not Takumi, it's Kaz or Shinji. And with the evidence as it is..."

Daisuke objected, "It's not one of them! I mean, Kaz defended Shinju! So did Shinji! If they framed her, why would they-"

"Guilt," Takeshi interrupted, "Maybe the killer between them got cold feet and saved her from the guillotine."

"That would more than likely make it Shinji..." Kenji reluctantly admitted, "I hate to say that, but..."

Yoshikazu looked me in the eyes, "Shinji, this is upsetting. Framing me? Considering you knew about a lot of this as well, and you definitely have a motive. Kill Emiko, and save yourself. Or did you intend to save one of your female companions? Choosing a favorite?"

"No, that's wrong!" Koneko exclaimed, her cat tail whipping back and forth, detailing her displeasure, "Shinji can't choose! You should know that by now, Kaz!"

"That doesn't prove his innocence," Takeshi rebuttled, "He could have been leading this trial to this conclusion from the start. So proactive, and still a suspect. Plus, humans are selfish bastards. Maybe he wants to save himself; he can fall in love again!"

Naoto finally decided to intervene, "Shinju? Where did you leave your handbook?"

Shinju looked confused by her question, "The locker room. We mentioned that."

"Then it's not Shinji," Naoto said matter-of-factly.

Yoshikazu came off as disgruntled by this, "To think I helped someone so ungrateful like you. How does that prove anything!?"

Naoto glared back at him, "Don't talk down to me! I didn't murder Emiko to make good on my promise!" Shizue rarely ever got angry, even in other personalities, "You remember what you told Shinji and Daisuke? Your uncle took you in and asked you to protect Hanako at Hope's Peak. So you killed Emiko over the motive, to free her. To make good on that promise. Because you feel you're obligated to!"

Kaz never looked angry before, but he did now, "Your presumptuous attitude just shows how much you lack respect. You are naught but a child screaming at your betters..."

"Then how did Shinji get into the girl's room to GET Shinju's handbook!?" Naoto revealed her major point, "He can't! And everyone else have theirs on their person right now! You are the only person with a handbook that can enter both locker rooms! That privilege Monotaro gave to you!"

Kenji smirked, "Guess Yoshikazu needs to...check his privilege."

"I'm screaming!" Nico responded, adding to the joke.

Satoshi's eyes opened wide, "No... Kaz, don't tell me... You abused that handbook to murder Emiko!?"

Daisuke yelled out, "No way! Yoshikazu is like a brother to me! He'd never do that!"

"That's what Taka said," Granberia shot down his pleas for his friend's innocence, "What you think he would do and what he DID do are not the same."

"B-but..." Daisuke had tears in his eyes, and he sank to his knees, "He..."

Yoshikazu growled at these statements, "How dare you ruin my reputation like this!? Do you hate me that much? Do you legitimately believe I would attack Emiko like that? Break her like that!? Shatter every bone in her hand!?"

"Kaz! What you just said..." I pointed out, "How do you know every bone in her hand was broken? The Monokuma file didn't say that, and only Naoto and the killer would know that! She only told me!"

Yoshikazu gasped as I pointed this out. He didn't say anything, his face turning pale, a gaunt expression up until he smiled, "It seems I must surrender. I am not so foolish to resist fate. Let the voting commence if you are so certain..."

Naoto didn't look happy about this turn of events, "So to clarify... You threw out the food except for the stuff Takumi messed with. At the party, you gave it to Emiko knowing what would happen and went to the supermarket with an excuse; to get soy sauce. You gathered a combination lock, a hammer, and some supplies to do laundry. Using your cover of moving around, you followed Emiko into the bathroom. You took Shinju's handbook, which you must have found yesterday, and locked it away at the last moment. Then you chased Emiko down into the pool and killed her. You dragged her towards the wall and felt her shattered hand as you wrote Shinju's name in blood. You wiped off the blood with Takumi's shirt, stuffed it in the laundry, and headed to the laundry room to wash your clothes and change. Is this correct?"

Yoshikazu merely sighed, "It does not matter what my response is."

Monokuma laughed, "What an interesting trial! That was amazing! Let's get to voting! And don't forget... If you don't, you will be punished!"

With that, Yoshikazu refused to budge, so the rest of us voted. A slot machine flashed and spun, eventually landing on a little picture of Yoshikazu, confirming what we had expected; he had been voted for. Coins flew out, and we all turned to Monokuma, fearful of what we had done.

"Correct! That's right! The blackened responsible for murdering Emiko Norita is Yoshikazu Shinozaki!" Monokuma cheerfully announced.

Yoshikazu just grimaced as his crime was finally confirmed.

Satoshi shook his head, "Yoshikazu...Why!?"

Daisuke ran over to Yoshikazu and yelled at him, "You big lummox! Why!? Why the fuck would you do this!? I... I didn't even get to tell you my feelings...you..."

Yoshikazu was shaken up, but quickly regained his composure, "I... owe everything to my uncle. Hanako isn't the strongest person here. She's very... likely to be killed. I could not bear the thought of letting her die... So when I heard Shinji talk about Takumi... I decided I could..."

"Frame him?" Granberia spoke as bluntly as ever.

Tears finally escaped Yoshikazu's eyes, "How shameful of a simple butler to display such emotion..."

"Kaz..." Daisuke tried to say something, but he was still speechless.

This was when Fuuko jumped down from the stands, "Damn it, Kaz. You're useless! I tell you to frame my sister Shinju and you fucked it up! Why'd you go and aid her alibi!? You almost had her!"

Yoshikazu didn't answer, and I asked, "Kaz. Did you...sabotage yourself on purpose?"

"A filthy murderer like me deserves nothing like pity, Shinji. It does not matter what I did or didn't do; I killed Emiko..." Yoshikazu refused to hear the thought out.

Fuuko rolled her eyes, "I'll tell them your deal now."

"B-but-" Yoshikazu tried to object.

"His deal was that if he successfully framed Shinju, he'd get to choose two people to leave. He gave them to me up front, and we shook on it. Stupid bastard messed that up," Fuuko was complaining about Kaz's...sympathy for us?

Nari glared at Yoshikazu before charging and hitting him in the chest. Her punches didn't hurt, and she just tired herself out, "You bastard...! Why!? Why did you kill her!?"

Fuuko shrugged and opened up the paper, "Ironically enough, he asked for Hanako and Nari to be allowed to leave. Didn't even go the selfish route." That shocked all of us, except for Kaz.

Kaz shook as he explained, "Emiko told me once how much Nari meant to her... That she would be more than willing to die for her... So I thought... If I could save the person closest to us both... Then I could at least repay my crime, if only partially..."

Nari smacked him in the face, "Hanako and I didn't want to be let out thanks to you, god dammit! We wanted to stay as friends! We wanted EVERYONE to leave here!"

"I am but a mere tool of my master's will," he said darkly, "And this tool must be disposed of, now."

Daisuke moved Nari out of the way and grabbed Yoshikazu by his shirt, "You what!?"

Yoshikazu winced in fear, something I'd never seen him do before, "I-"

"You are not a tool!" Daisuke was screaming, too, "Don't ever talk down to the man I love!"

Yoshikazu's eyes widened as Daisuke confessed, and with no alternative, leaned in to kiss him. The rest of us were speechless at this display of affection, here at the end, "I feel the same, Daisuke. If only this bone-headed servant had known his place..."

"You went that far to save Nari and Hanako... huh?" I said in a quiet voice, "Kaz... I'm sorry. I didn't want you to be executed! You know that!"

Yoshikazu walked over and patted my head, ruffling my hair, "Shinji, you have a good heart. Stay strong; I have faith in my first friend..." he turned to Nari, "You... I chose to save you over myself. You must be confused by that."

Nari wanted to react, she wanted to hurt the man before her, the one who stole her best friend, but she couldn't bring herself to, "Why!? WHY!?"

"In part, Emiko would have wanted you to live..." Kaz stated, "Before I killed her... Your name was the last thing she said. She hoped you'd forgive her for not living..." Kaz broke into tears, "And otherwise... You remind me of my mother, and I... I couldn't... I couldn't watch you die again. I..."

He couldn't speak anymore, and just sobbed as he fell to his knees, "I will never be forgiven for this..."

"Kaz...No. I don't... I don't want you to die!" Nico exclaimed, also having been reluctant about this execution.

"Toooo bad! I have been waiting to say this again! I've prepared a special punishment for Yoshikazu Shinozaki, the Ultimate Butler!"

Yoshikazu gazed at Monokuma, "What do you want!?"

Monokuma cheered, "Let's give it everything I've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIIME!"

Yoshikazu sighed, accepting his fate, "I have faith my friends will beat you, you pathetic bear..."

Monokuma took out a small little gavel and smashed a big red button. A game over screen appeared, and Yoshikazu was dragged off by a metal chain that surrounded his neck. It dragged him into a different room, with sliding doors. The doors outside closed, with a title we could read; The Ultimate Butler's Final Order!

Yoshikazu falls to the floor and the only item in the room is a large blade, a katana. Monokuma appears behind him, dressed as a stereotypical samurai.

A note read that his last order, delivered by Monokuma, is to end his own life or the others will be punished instead.

Seeing no other discourse, Yoshikazu picked up the blade and unsheathed it. The shining blade gleamed in the moonlight leaking in, as he raised it high. He had a calm, serene face as he swung downward, shoving the blade deep into his stomach. He swung to the left and blood splattered all across the room. Even in the intense pain, Yoshikazu did not scream or make a sound as Monokuma finished the ritual by decapitating him.

His head fell and rolled away, falling down steps and landing in front of the remaining sixteen students. All that was left of the Ultimate Butler.

"Yahoooo! EXTREME! Now THAT was an execution! No more silliness, right!?" Monokuma laughed like a small child, unable to contain the joy that our despair brought him.

Forced to watch the end of that execution, I tried my best not to puke. Hanako screamed and tried to run to his body, but Akihiko held her back, letting her exhaust herself.

Takeshi looked noticeably shaken up, "...Fuuck. They don't deserve this... My fuckin' talent...does it again."

Satoshi growled, "This sick, cruel game... I hate this! Why did he have to die!?"

Monokuma chuckled, "'Cuz it's a game!"

Fuuko knocked him over with a strong push, "Stupid bear," she glared at us, "That...He lost, so I guess my life is yours. Kill me or...whatever."

Akihiko shrugged, not particularly caring, "Kaz picked the killer. not you. You may have motivated him, but..."

"I don't want blood on our hands..." Hanako whispered, having finally stopped her steady stream of tears and holding on to Kenji tightly, "It's not what Kaz would condone!"

Satoshi sighed, "Guess we could interrogate her."

"Not if you tortured me..." Fuuko replied, "I don't even know much... I just know I wanted my sister's tormentor killed."

"If Kaz had won, what would you have done when Shinju got executed?" I asked, wondering how it could have been worth it.

Fuuko looked at me, eyes full of hatred, fierce and unforgiving, "My deal with Izuru ensured Shinju would get to live, too. That's what he promised, anyways."

Naoto observed her vitriolic reaction, "...Intriguing. You glare at him with such vigorous disdain. Do you, by chance, know Shinji?"

"O-of course not!" Fuuko tried to force her way out of the question, "I just hate the way he looks, is all. Practically can taste the pitiable person he is."

I looked over to Naoto and lifted my eyebrows, to signal her. She shook her head, cheeks turning red, "What are you implying!?"

"Noooothin'," I said, ever so casually, "So what do we do with her?"

Satoshi crossed his arms and sighed, "We'll put her in Kaz's cottage. Maybe she'll be willing to talk or make things right. Otherwise, lock her in there."

Daisuke asked, "Doesn't it only lock on the inside?"

"We'll chain her to the support beams," Aki joked, "She can't unlock it like that."

Satoshi patted me on the back, "Good news, Shinji. You get to keep her fed and watered."

"She's not a pet! And why is it MY responsibility!?" I exclaimed, annoyed by his nonchalant attitude.

He pointed to Shinju, "Her sister, your family in law. You deal with it."

"Well, screw you, too!" I said, my pitch getting higher.

Monokuma laughed heartily, "If that's the case, I'll have Kaz's cottage fitted for her stay. You'll love it!"

When we reached Kaz's cottage, Aki forcefully escorting her, none of us said a word. There was this silence amongst us; we were still traumatized by the execution we had seen. The cottage had been redesigned with a large metal cage surrounding it, with the words, "Prison" written in spray paint on a small wooden sign carelessly taped onto the side.

I made sure that some of the others made it safely to their cottages before checking in on Fuuko, who was sitting on the bed. Nari, Hanako, Akihiko, and Daisuke were inside.

I joined their side, seeing Fuuko watch us, "She's got a collar?" Sure enough, Fuuko had a collar around her neck, with a little pink bell attached.

Daisuke laughed a bit, "Kinda messed up, but Nari wanted it. Can't say no, considering."

Nari was glaring at Fuuko before giving in and turning away, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I don't hate her. I just..."

"Nari, if you want to talk..." She didn't let me finish as she walked out, shoulders slumped.

Fuuko didn't say anything, just hatefully staring at me. Daisuke shrugged, "Not his fault you're in this mess, little lady. Now behave or he might not feed you."

Aki rolled his eyes, "You're not a sheriff, Daisuke. Now get outta here. We both lost someone today... We need to rest up if we intend to pay that bastard Monokuma back."

Aki and Daisuke walked out, discussing what to do to regain group morale. Daisuke was trying to joke around, but he really looked worn and down. Akihiko seemed to take it in stride a bit better, since he was more used to controlling his emotions.

After Hanako followed them out, I pulled up a chair and decided to try and talk to her, "I don't know why Satoshi put me in charge, but just know that I don't approve of locking you up like this."

"Why is that, bastard!?" Fuuko was really trying to push me away.

"You're not a murderer. You were just looking out for Shinju, I get that. I love her, too," I tried to be truthful and open with her.

Fuuko lunged up towards me and grabbed my collar, "Like hell you do!"

I was frightened by this, but I didn't back down, "I do... If you think I'm lying, that's fine."

Fuuko continued glaring at me, as if she was unsure what to do with me, "I hate you."

"Do you want to kill me?," I asked. That caught Fuuko off guard, so I added, "...I don't want to be enemies. I don't want you to get punished by the others over me. What would Shinju think?"

Fuuko dropped me, "Cheating bastard," she walked back to the bed.

I shook my head, "Heard it before..." I sighed, "You hate me, Kiyo hates me. If it weren't for the others, I..."

Shizue stepped in, dressed like normally, "Shinji? I came to get you. I was worried Fuuko might try to hurt you..."

Looking back at her, I sighed in relief to see she wasn't glaring at me anymore, just sitting on the bed, "...She'd never."

Shizue put a hand on my shoulder, "Shinju is staying with Nari tonight. She's still really hurt by this..."

Turning to Shizue, I patted her head, "And you volunteered to keep me company, tonight? How dear of you... I appreciate it," I hugged her, "Let's go... Today was rough for all of us, and we'll just have to discuss it tomorrow."

Shizue and I went back to my cottage and we immediately passed out upon getting inside and on the now miraculously comforting bed.

On that day, we lost two people near and dear to my heart. Emiko, Nari's best friend and a positive force despite her occasional coldness. She was very caring and reliable where it mattered. Her last gift was to end the rift split between me and those closest to me. Yoshikazu, a man weighed down with the fate of his past and the many expectations instilled in him. In the end, he was still a boy who missed his mother. A friend... a comrade... a brother; he died with honor.

If I had known what tragedies awaited us, I might have wished we'd died instead. At least then, some us were guaranteed to live. That we would be spared... _what was to come._


	23. Chapter Two Daily Life Part One

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, my father passed away. ;_; ... So, delays. As for the story, this daily life went on foooooorever so it's being cut into parts. This is the first one. :P Working on the second as I can get to it. ^o^

 _ **Chapter Two-Dying for Aesthetic**_

 _ **~~~~Daily Life Part One**_

Sixteen of us were left. This made us even more like the original groups. To think, that despite being aware of both previous games that we were still unable to stop it. Dammit! None of that knowledge proved useful! If only we had Lamborghinis up in these Japanese hills...

I was outside in the forest, sitting on the bench. It was nearly midnight. The trial had ended at around 8:30, and we had fallen deeply into sleep. I had been awoken by a noise outside, only to find Panterbell being adorable. He was terrified and frightened, probably because of how he had been abandoned for the past few days.

He was curled up in my lap, purring as loudly as his little body would allow, claws extending into my thigh before slowly retracting as he stretched each toe bean out individually. I took him out here to gather my thoughts, especially considering the horrors that I had been witness to.

What could we do? Fuuko had been captured, but she refused to reveal anything. I absolutely was against harming her for info. We may be in a desperate situation, but we're not Americans. But if that stubbornness got us all killed... No, it's better not to think that way. Have to stay positive.

"Awooo!" A sharp howl cut through the night, ending the silence I had found solace in. I didn't know what made that mysterious disturbance in the forest, but it sounded... deadly.

That was when I heard something sprinting through the forest at breakneck speed. Branches cracked from the weight of whatever was headed towards me. Since Koneko could control her Primal form now, it couldn't be her, which made the thought all the more terrifying. Should I run? No, I'd never make it.

Panterbell, who had been asleep, awoke to the noises and angrily meowed towards the forest nearest us. Awe, kittens think they're so spooky. Cuuuute!

Out of the brush, I saw silver ears, distinctly of canine origin. The creature stepped forward. It was... a tiangou? ...For simplicity's sake, I'll call it the tengu wolf, instead. The creature rose to its feet. White, detached sleeves that matched her white shirt, with a small, dotted line on the end. Two white puff balls were directly planted onto her chest.

I could see white under her skirt, which looked alive with fire towards the bottom, a deep and flaming red licking its way up the rest of the black skirt. She wore traditional geta, the wooden shoes with a strap, similar to flip-flops.

Her short, silver white hair matched well with the fiercest red eyes that seemed to pierce my soul. Where did I recognize her? The red tokin she was wearing... Tokins were boxes that tengu and other dangerous spirits wore, though they usually were guardians instead of warriors. Oddly enough, the arrival wore an unusually red one, with two shrine charms hung down on either side of her head. If only I knew... I sat Panterbell down at the bench and walked towards this new entity.

I stepped forward, watching her eyes follow my every movement, not a single second of delay. A name came to mind, "...This isn't the Mountain of Faith, you know? Perhaps a watchdog like you is better suited there."

The mysterious arrival grinned, a single fang poking up from her bottom lip, "Bold words coming from someone like you," she had a strong and commanding tone, "I have more power in my tail," she waved it through the air at a high speed, causing nearby leaves to fly away into the night, "than you could ever hope to know."

"Ohoho, I see how it is. Perhaps the great Momiji Inubashiri has some unknown power I don't know of?" I decided to poke the beast, suspecting the entity before me was more familiar than I thought, "If you intend to impress, you-"

She was behind me in an instant, her claws extended and directed at my neck while her tail smacked me in the face, "Quiet, whelp. Only the alpha is allowed to act all haughty. Or annoy its mate, for that matter."

I snickered, "Then mate well, Great Awoo. Perhaps your child could prove Aya a challen-"

The powerful girl behind me launched herself into the air and, with a scimitar-like sword in one hand and a shield with an emblazoned maple on the other. She swung it at me, sending waves upon waves of blinding yellow light towards me, creating hundreds if not thousands of small, precise holes in the ground all around me.

My eyes went wide; this girl was ready to make my life a bullet hell, and I didn't have any bombs, "I retract my last statement!"

The feral beast in front of me slammed into the ground before me, laying her sword perpendicular to my neck, "Bow or be slain, dog."

"Reverse roles, huh? I like it," she tripped me. Losing my balance, I fell face first into the dirt, "Ow!"

"I will not be mocked by my victory spoils," she said. She tried to put forth this stalwart, demanding tone. It must have been different for her. To emphasize that, she stepped on my back, her geta painfully digging into my back.

I groaned in pain, "I give, I give! I surrender unconditionally! Don't nuke me twice!"

Momiji lifted her foot, albeit slowly, "What an awful taste in jokes. It is astounding what anyone could find to like in you."

"They say I have beautiful eyes," Momiji smacked me with her tail, not too hard, but enough to make me taste the dirt, "Ugh!"

She grabbed me by the collar and lifted me to my feet, her weapon and shield mysteriously gone, "Why did you leave me? Having to summon my powers just to find you... Sniffing you out was quite easy, but then again... I can see for a thousand miles, give or take."

I put my fingers in her mouth, stretching them out, "So cuuute! It was a trap to see you, my beloved!"

"Schtop dat!" She barked at me, her canines shining in the dim moonlight. I reluctantly let go, "Agh, you treat me like a joke!"

I silenced her by placing my hand on her head, petting her gently, "Calm down, Shizue. I'm kidding. You know I love you, whoever you become. You don't have to change."

Momiji didn't resist the headpats, instead taking a noble stance, "As this form, I can protect us both with ease! No one could bring harm to either of us! Certainly, an imperative, due to my showing in the last trial."

That instantly made my smile vanish, and I let go of her, "So you think... there'll be another killing, too, huh?"

She snuggled up under my arm, forcing me to continue petting her before she responded, "The possibility is there, and I must be prepared. I am always ready to defend you, my love," she looked me in the eyes before nuzzling her nose against mine, "Even if you act such a fool."

"It is my favorite arcana, after all," I joked, "So do you intend to forcefully snuggle me, now?"

Momiji waved her tail across the back of my neck, tickling it in just the right way, "Would you like to touch my fluffy tail?"

Yes  
YEEEEEEEES

*snuggles*

...And that was how Shizue cheered me up. I can't begin to explain the sheer fluffiness that was contained in that tail, the likes of which I may never understand. Little did I know as I made my way back to my cottage, Panterbell in one hand and Momiji holding the other, what villainy was being discussed elsewhere.

 **Monokuma's Theater 4#**

Monokuma reappeared on that stage of his, smirking as his red eye shined and glowed in the darkness as a spotlight began illuminating him, "That first trial was wild, wasn't it!? It reminded me of my times back with Makoto... I may not have appreciated his company back then, but I miss him now. You truly never know what you miss until it's gone."

The audience was quiet as he eventually continued, first clearing his throat, "This bear is ready to rev all of his engines into the future! Makoto may be off fostering hope, but as long as despair exists, I'll always be in his heart. Like angina!"

 **Misery's POV**

As the Romantic walked off with his new "pet", I switched the monitor feed to Fuuko, who was angrily glaring at the monitor screen, "Stop watching me, creep. I know I lost..."

I sighed. I didn't want to show emotion; as per my orders from my beloved, but I didn't have a choice. He wanted to keep me safe, and I had to abide by his... last request.

No, such dark thoughts are naught of my concern. They were gone; that much is for sure. Izuru, Kenta, and Kiyo must have been waiting impatiently for me, since that thing arrived, "Oh, Misery! Only survivor of the Resort School Staff! The meeting is now, if you wouldn't miiiiiind?"

I stood up and walked towards him, "Understood, Monokuma."

Monokuma slowly paced himself to walk alongside my slow, almost melodic pace, "Some reason you don't talk much? Fuuko couldn't stop complaining, Kiyo talks about the old days. Even Izuru mentions the times with his fellow reformed Despair members."

"There is nothing to be said. Fuuko is now in the hands of the enemy, and we are deciding who will throw away their lives in an unnecessary game again," I was not a willing participant in this game. Kiyo had forced my hand, and if I pulled out now, Kenta might have me disposed of. As long as my former lover wanted me to survive this ordeal, I was forced to watch those close to me participate in a hellish game.

Monokuma must have caught on to that, "Not pepped up to be here, huh? Why? Is it 'cause you miss it? Being a member of Ultimate Despair!?"

My eyes widened. It was a natural reaction, one I couldn't prevent, "I have no idea-"

"Yeah, right. All the school staff were dead before Kiyo arrived. You're just a certain ally to the Despair accomplice here, right?" Monokuma teased, "I mean, I do recognize your voice, girl. We met in person, after all."

How unfortunate for Monokuma of all people to know that. Damn him. Even if he was just a program without his master, that would be extremely troublesome.

He laughed, "Oh, relax. I won't tell anyone yet! I want despair first! And to crush this group, the game needs to keep going! Just like Fuuko wanted, riiight?"

I grimaced, "Letting her use the data and torture the suspect was unacceptable, and we both know it. Why Kiyo let her do it... I'll never understand."

Monokuma chuckled, "The suspect deserved it, right? I mean, a member of Despair, and your accomplice!?"

I grabbed him and lifted him up, "Silence, bear. If the others hear of this, the game of yours will be over."

"I know, I know. So make sure to stay in line!" he reminded me, and his tone, though it sounded cutesy, was everything but, "No matter how much it hurts to watch... The accomplice isn't allowed to have hope."

I clenched my teeth in anger. Letting them suffer through that... Especially with those closest to them, in a game to the death... How could I partake in this!?

I looked back on everything. When Fuuko and Kiyo arrived, they had accosted the suspect and locked them up in their own damned machines. After finding out the serious crimes committed here, they ran the perpetrator through simulation games, even more than the two members of Despair had done while trying to entrench the others in despair.

When that inevitably didn't work, they decided to raise the stakes. Izuru came along and demanded concise proof of the guilty party, so the Despair Fragment Initiative was formed. The real member of Despair had to be exposed and executed, or all of us would be purged by the Future Foundation's last bastion.

Two Despair Fragments had been forged and collected; one formed from the Romantic's remembering his fight, and collected upon the near loss of his loved ones, and another, forged by and then collected through the deaths of two students. If this kept up, the six would be collected, and in theory, the member of Despair in that group would regain the memories they themselves locked away. Then we could punish them properly, and let the survivors roam free.

Or so they wanted. I couldn't stand watching people I knew dying. Those eighteen students... I knew them all, deeply. But one far more than the others... I thought to myself. Both members of Despair in that group were known to me, but I knew the consequences of revealing that. They might both be killed, and then...

Monokuma chuckled, "Awe, worried about your former comrades? If you just lied, then they could be saved, right?"

I glared at him, "You know one is suspected by them. Lying would only make the situation worse. And if they thought I knew and didn't say it from the beginning..."

We finally entered the large conference room, a huge circular room designed for us. Six chairs adorned the hallway, each one varying in height due to our status. Izuru insisted on this, since we were all, in a sense, nobodies.

He sat upon the highest seat. Second was Kenta, proud of his deep ties to both Junko and the Future Foundation. His experiments to create her were purposefully bastardized, or so I theorized. That might, in a sense, make him the root cause of the world's destruction.

Third was Monokuma, who represented Junko herself, though he was only one side to her. He was playing the bit announcer role again, probably because Kenta had grown unexpectedly attached to his demonic creation's designs.

Fourth was myself; I was given priority by Izuru, though both Kiyo and Fuuko had objected at the time. I was the last survivor at this resort besides the eighteen students, and like two of those students, formerly a member of Despair. Perhaps Izuru gave me such power to ensure I was no longer loyal to Junko, as evidenced by my disdain for this entire sick, cruel experiment committed by rejects of her agenda.

Fifth was Kiyo, who had betrayed his best friend to join us. Kiyo was one of the first to join Future Foundation, his optimistic self determined to save his friends and the world. That idealism was destroyed once he came here, and witnessed the crimes of Despair; forcing sixteen close friends into simulation after simulation, for one whole year after bonding, to make the pain so much worse.

He pledged to end the last member of Despair no matter what it costed him; perhaps not the best idea on his part.

Sixth was Fuuko; the sister of the Ultimate Poet. She was determined to avenge her sister's pain, trapping the suspect in the simulations for an additional six months to try and break the poor soul. She never succeeded, bringing Izuru to question how a member of Despair could be so immune to falling into it.

Apparently, the suspect, either accomplice or original, broke down and betrayed the other, locking them up in the simulation as well. Then they disposed of their own memories. I guess they hoped we would have taken the seventeen others and leave without them. Izuru demanded to play this game, however; they had to be sure, after all.

Now two innocents were dead, neither the accomplice or suspected official eliminated. No progress had been made except to grab a Despair Fragment, and Fuuko was now subservient to the enemy.

In a way, it was payback for her previous cruelty. Poignant, in its own, twisted way.

"Glad to see you could join us," Kenta spoke with that awful falsely respectful tone. I wanted him to die; preferably in a woodchipper, "Interestingly enough, it seems Izuru has decided to volunteer this time around."

Kiyo nodded his head excitedly, "Takuro will be avenged! There's no way Boss can lose!"

Izuru said nothing, sitting in silence, watching over us. What was he planning?

 **Shinji's POV**

The day started off with that annoying voice, "Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make... Gooooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Be enthusiastic and try your hardest, today!"

The fluffiness demanded I never wake up, but I knew we had to. The group was having a meeting that morning to discuss the trial, and it was definitely not going to be a pleasant talk, especially since a new villain would rear their ugly head.

I roused myself until I arose to my feet, yawning and stretching my arms. Despite the nightmare we had been put through, I hadn't slept that well since the month was over. Shizue knew what she was doing.

Speaking of Shizue, she was getting dressed, and it was amusing to see that her clothes had tail slots. The struggle was real, huh? "So did you make this recently or...?"

Momiji finished putting on her hat, perfecting her outfit, before turning to me, a goofy smile on her face, "Actually, Kaz helped me make this with the last one. He thought you'd find this one especially cute, so..." her smile faded, for obvious reasons.

I bit my lip after hearing his name. Kaz... He really did try to sacrifice us, huh? But in the end... he wasn't able to go through with it. "Ah, that reminds me. I'll get Fuuko. She might want to be present during the meeting."

"Is that the wisest idea?" Momiji asked, her canines bared as she growled at the thought, "She is not trustworthy."

"She didn't kill like thirteen people," I bitterly responded, "It'll be fine, trust me."

I assumed she'd still try to stop me, but she didn't move. With that, I finished getting dressed and made my way over to Kaz's prison cottage. I opened the cell door and stepped inside, seeing Fuuko sleeping on the bed, "Wake up, private! We have a meeting to attend!"

She yelped in surprise and stumbled to the floor, landing hard on the carpet, "You asshole!"

"Sorry, my dear. You're one of us now, whether you like it or not," I curtly replied, "Not as a killing game student, but as someone who has a job to fulfill."

"I said I wouldn't talk," Fuuko stood up and folded her arms, "I will never give you any info about our mission here!"

I snapped back at her, "I'm not deaf! Stop treating me like a child!" She flinched when I raised my voice at her, "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't be mad at you... Look, just come with me, alright?"

Fuuko reluctantly sat up, "Then look away, jerk. I have to get dressed."

I nodded and stepped outside the cottage. After a while, she joined me outside, "There, happy!?" She was wearing a frilly pink dress that contrasted with her blue hair, now in twintails, and her sharp, green eyes. Were they always that color...?

I nodded, "Yes, I am. You look cute."

As expected, she glared at me even harder. If looks could kill... "I don't need your approval! I know I look cute!"

This made me laugh a bit, which must have somehow offended her.

"What's so funny, creep!?" She stomped over to me, her fist clenched.

I managed to restrain my laughter to answer, "I wish I had your confidence. I can see it runs in your family."

Fuuko tried to slap me, but I dodged, having been used to that by now, "Don't talk about sis like she's not there!"

"Fine, fine. I don't wish to make you uncomfortable," I gave in, "Just say the word and I will attempt to accommodate your needs."

She glared at me even harder, "Get me a drink."

I nodded and we headed over to the cafe, where I proceeded to make her a drink and handed it to her, "As you wish."

Fuuko didn't say anything for the longest time, as if she was in shock, "You... This is my..."

"Iced caramel macchiato. Your favorite, according to what Shinju told me," I summarized, "And a drink for myself." As the two of us walked out of the cafe, she didn't say anything, just clutching the drink in her two hands, "Is there a problem?"

She ignored me for a moment, so we just stood there, an awkward silence between us, "... Just get us to the courtyard."

With what was almost a whisper, the two of us reached the courtyard and sat near the back. When Shinju and Nari finally arrived, I waved them over, "Hey... You must have gotten sleep, looks like."

Shinju nodded, "Yesterday was tragic... But exhausting, too," She noticed Fuuko sitting next to me, "...You're not keeping her locked up?"

"What bullshit is this!?" Kenji exclaimed. He left Hanako in the dust to rush over, "What is this bitch doing free!? Shinji, explain!"

Hanako walked over at a much slower pace. She looked drained. Kibou ran up to her and patted her on the back, "It's okay, Hanako. I'm here for you."

Hanako gently smiled at her, but she didn't say anything, perhaps not able to find the right words to use.

Kenji snapped back to reality, "Shinji! Why are you letting her run amok!?"

I shook my head, "She's my responsibility. I can let her do as I please."

Kenji wasn't alone in berating me, "This bitch..." Nari was shaking, "She... Two of our friends are dead because of her!"

"I've done more than just that..." Fuuko spoke back to her, the first in a long while, "...Whatever."

Kenji adjusted his glasses, "Normally I wouldn't agree with someone like Nari, but leaving her unattended is foolish, Shinji. She's clearly not in the right state of mind to be left running free."

"So should I treat her like a prisoner?" What did they want me to do!? "Why?"

Satoshi, Daisuke, and Akihiko arrived with the others, and we had all been assembled. Satoshi noticed the tense situation and tried to mediate, "Come on, guys. I gave him command; let him do what he thinks is best."

"At the risk of all of our lives!?" Daisuke was surprisingly against this, "I don't trust this cunt!"

"Satoshi, I thought you of all people would want her restrained," Nico added, "You are the commander, here."

Satoshi didn't agree with that, "I'm a failure. People died on my watch. I'm relinquishing my title as of now."

A few people gasped, but Takeshi just managed to find joy in it, "Hah! About time. Can I go now?"

Nico sighed, "If this is how it's going to be, I'll take over as our leader. I know what mistakes to avoid."

Satoshi solemnly tossed him the keys, "Whatever works. I don't care anymore..."

Daisuke redirected his energy to the new leader, "Nico, we can lock her up, right? She's a threat!"

"I will leave it to Shinji's discretion," Nico eventually answered, "She hasn't caused any harm yet."

Akihiko rested on the table next to Takeshi, who took offense, "Hey, dickhead. I'm the only one at this ta-" Akihiko decked Takeshi to the floor, not letting him finish his threat. Takeshi coughed up a bit of blood, and his lip was busted, "The hell!?"

Aki glared at him, "Step out of line and I'll fucking gut you."

That definitely surprised some of us, "Akihiko, what are you-" Kibou tried to calm him down.

"Laying down the law. If he acts like he did at the trial one more time," Aki cracked his knuckles, "I'll beat him until he begs for me to end it. ...Good lord knows I wish Kaz killed you, instead."

"But he didn't!" Takeshi stood up, wiping the blood off, "Because he couldn't! I'm too smart for that! The second you trust people, when you let them in..." He stopped talking, instead sitting at the edge of the table, his head in his hands.

With that unpleasantness behind us, Daisuke regained control of the conversation, "Shinji, come on! Being around her like this is putting yourself in danger! You know I'm looking out for you!"

I finally rose to my feet, "No, you're not. You just want to punish her."

"And for good reason!" he shot back, "If this bitch had just left it alone, we'd all be here right now! ALL of us!" Daisuke looked around at the others, as if to try and motivate them to argue alongside him.

"Daisuke... This is Shinju's sister. Does that mean anything to you?" I tried to get him to see reason.

"Makes me trust her less..." Kenji said, just under his breath.

Daisuke refused to listen, "So!? Blood doesn't make you worth anythin'! My parents raised me, but I'm just a nuisance to 'em! She's not special! She's a criminal!"

"Daisuke, calm down," I emphasized the last part, "Calm down."

Nari decided he was worth fighting with, "No, I agree with him. Doesn't matter who she is; we should just deal with her like they did with Kaz..."

"Hah, maybe that's a great idea!" Daisuke's blood was heating up more than I had ever seen before. In the end, Kaz's death must have unhinged him more than we expected, "Anyone got somethin' sharp?"

I shouted at him, "You won't touch her!"

Fuuko, who had been cringing under the table next to me in fear of their retribution, looked up to me, a look of confusion plastered on her face.

"Oh, come on! Why are you even defending her!?" Daisuke was belligerent, and he took a couple of steps towards me, "Like Shinju cares! And even if she did, they're both cunts!" That last statement reverberated through the group, and even Takeshi glanced up at Daisuke, eyes widened in surprise and awe. Daisuke continued, as if it were just he and I, "Or did you forget what happened to your limbs, too!?"

I growled back at him, "And if it was your sister in this situation!?"

Daisuke refused to listen, "No! That's bullshit! My sister isn't some worthless freak!"

"Is that how you'd have defended Yoshikazu, too!?" Shit had just gotten real, my children, "Did you even know him!? He killed Emiko! No matter what Fuuko said to him... He did it with his own hands! Stop making excuses for the dead!"

He took a step closer, "Excuses!? Why, you-"

I didn't listen, "Then the only person you should be angry with is yourself! You were Kaz's best friend! You and Satoshi! And neither of you stepped up to stop him, to make him feel like he had another way out!" Satoshi grimaced at this, sitting down and trying not to erupt into tears of regret.

"Bastard!" Daisuke finally unleashed all of his rage in a single attack.

Before he reached me, Momiji stepped in and karate chopped him in the stomach. She proceeded to drop kick him without hesitation, "Enough!" She announced in that commanding tone.

Daisuke tried to stand up, but she pushed him back to the ground, her geta in his back.

Momiji bared her teeth at him, "Down. What good will fighting do!?" No one spoke up, and she restated, "What's done is done. Now is the time for you to listen. Until I am certain Fuuko is not a threat, I will be shadowing her. If she makes any move that seems like she's acting with intent to harm, I will personally execute her. And Shinji can deal with me..."

"Shizue, that's not fa-"

"No! You are too simple, too easily used! Whatever pity story she gave you, I won't allow her to go unguarded!" Her new personality was not willing to compromise, huh?

I shrugged once I realized fighting her would do no good, "Fine, as you wish, Momiji-san. I have faith that she'll behave, though."

Shinju used our distraction to coax Fuuko out from under the table to talk to her. She looked to me, "Should we search with you?"

"I'd like that," I answered earnestly.

Satoshi must have forgotten, "Right. Monokuma sent us a message." We all checked our handbooks to confirm this, and Satoshi added, "We can enter the second area now, the Creativity Sphere. There's a basic map here, but it's best if we check this area thoroughly."

"There must be a way out, or another gate," Nico added, "Though the latter implies another round of this crap."

Kibou refused to let her hope die, "No way! We can easily survive this! We just need to believe! Giving up isn't good for us!"

Hanako agreed with this sentiment, "Sh-she's right. We have to work together."

"Even if we can't trust each other?" Kenji said this, surprisingly, "Look at what trusting Yoshikazu cost us."

"That's not fair-" Daisuke started to argue, his veins bulging as he made an aggressive move towards Kenji.

Mayu berated him, "Daisuke, enough! If you keep losing your temper, I will be forced to restrain you!"

Granberia walked by my side, concurring, "Too emotional. If you don't calm down, Monokuma might try to use you, next."

Feeling it needed to be said, I spoke up, "...Daisuke, Satoshi, I'm sorry. I know what Yoshikazu meant to you... I was his friend, too," I clenched my fist, "I said that because... I feel it too. Like I failed him. Like I failed you."

Koneko gripped my shoulder, gaining my attention. Instead of saying anything, she just nodded and stood by my side, to reassure me.

"...Yeah. I'm sorry, too," Daisuke eventually responded, "I got heated. Killing her..." he glared at Fuuko for a moment, "Won't solve our problem. It could just make it worse. I'll keep myself in check."

Akihiko sighed, "We should split up. Tensions are high, and some of us need to calm down. We need to go investigate the second area."

Nodding, I held out my hand to Shinju, "The gates are unlocked for the next area, yes? Then let's go." With that, we split up.

Kenji, Hanako, Satoshi, Kibou, and Nari made up group one, who went to investigate first. Next was Akihiko, Daisuke, Takeshi (coerced to go along), Nico, and Takumi. Fuuko, Shinju, Mayu, Koneko, Granberia, and I made up the third team, while Momiji presumably observed us all from the shadows, ensuring that nothing untoward happened during our ascent up those stone stairs.

Every step that led us up that mountain slope filled me with more unease. What awaited us up here? Creativity? Would there be a new motive, new ways to kill? Thoughts like this swirled in my head as we trudged up those stairs, the sounds of footsteps encompassing the entire resort.

Mayu decided to try and cheer us up, "Well, Fuuko. Whatever reasons you may have had for working for our supposed enemy, we are willing to look past that. Unlike Nari, we aren't reviled by your presence."

"Any shenanigans and I'll crush you into jelly," Granberia stated, no emotion to it.

I shook my head, chuckling, "Come on, Granberry. You're much more loving than that. Gentler."

She swiftly delivered a hard punch to my unprotected groin. As I slumped to my knees, she clapped her hands together, wiping off some dirt, "I'm not flat, bastard."

Fuuko laughed at my pain, the first I had ever seen. In fact, I'd never seen her smile before, either, so this was a totally new stimulus in our environment.

Shinju asked, "Do you guys mind if I spend time with her alone? I want to catch up. I know terms aren't the best, but..."

"Momiji will be watching you, but sure," Koneko reminded her, "We'll take care of Shinji."

Granberia nodded, her eyes shining in an eerie manner. I felt as if the gleam in her eye meant she intended to harm me further, though I strongly hoped it was merely my overactive imagination.

With that, Shinju, Fuuko, and presumably Momiji headed back down to Kaz's cottage to have some heart-to-heart, and that left me with Koneko, Mayu, and Granberia.

As we finally ascended the last of the stairs and entered into a new area of the mountainside resort, we saw a giant wall. Two balconies winded around the sides, and on the giant stone wall was a disturbing painting of some man, a demon in some regards. Under the painting read the name, Rin Tezuka.

Kenji and Hanako had apparently been left behind by the others as the two stared at the painting, lost in their own thoughts, "Ah, yes, Rin's final gift to the Academy. I can't ever forget how Emi tried to hide her disgust with this."

Hanako nodded, hiding behind Kenji a bit, "It still haunts me. It's as if it's watching me... Following me around."

Kenji smirked, "I'll protect you, Hanako. Rin's spirit knows better than to test me!"

"Her spirit!? She died!?" Hanako exclaimed.

"What!? No! Just... She retired. Guess what's left of her artistic side is immortalized in this final work," Kenji explained.

Koneko walked ahead of Mayu, Granberia, and I, "Reminiscing on the past, huh?" The duo turned to her, somewhat surprised, "Oh, didn't mean to butt in. I'm just curious, hehe. Cat, remember?" She licked her hand for a moment as she said this, forgetting where she was.

Kenji obscured his face with his scarf, "Ah, Koneko. No prisoner with you, eh? I see. Probably off with Shinju, catching up."

"How did you-" Granberia was surprised at Kenji's unexpected observation skills.

"I'm not stupid... I'm not sure what to think, but I'll respect your decision for now, Shinji. You haven't let me down yet, soldier!" He saluted me, and I nodded.

"So Rin Tezuka? Friend of yours?" I asked, walking up to stare at the painting with them.

Hanako nodded, "...Yes. A good one. After Lilly moved..."

Kenji chuckled, "Never saw that one coming."

I didn't know what to say, so instead I bid them farewell, "We'll leave you to your memories. Come on, guys."

Koneko, Granberia, Mayu, and I walked off, leaving the two to their memories of too long ago.

Moving slightly to the west, we quickly noticed the circular pattern of tiles. So another circle area, huh?

Deciding to go around the edge in a clockwise manner, the first building we met wasn't a building at all. It was a large maze, a labyrinth. The garden maze was huge. Deciding I didn't want to get lost inside, I decided to avoid entering. I could have sworn a growling sound came from inside.

The second area was a building; the Historical Art Museum of Despair. Outside, two golden Monokuma statues shined in the sunlight, nearly blinding us as we stumbled inside. Inside, we saw a long hallway, with a painting at the back. On the way there were stone pillars upon which some art was placed.

"So atmospheric, isn't it?" Koneko was in awe, staring up at the ceiling as her ears twitched, "I can hear an organ playing."

Her words rang true, as eerie organ music began to grow louder, coming from further inside.

Mayu walked up and examined the paintings, "This one reminds me of... Mona Lisa. Alas, she's not in it," she pointed to the closest painting. The landscape was there, but instead of where the famed woman would be, there was just an inky blackness, as if she had jumped out.

Granberia walked over to another painting, "The Woman in Black..." She reached out to touch the painting, but she was suddenly grabbed by the painting itself. The woman slowly crawled out, holding onto her tightly as it snarled and growled at us.

Koneko ran forward and pushed the woman away. The woman reared up and launched towards Koneko, who quickly sliced through the woman with her sharpened claws. She just disappeared as the claws pierced her neck, small globs of red and black paint falling to the floor. Scariest of all, the painting was back to normal. What just happened?

Monokuma popped up, laughing hysterically, "Be careful if I was you! Some of the art exhibits are far deadlier than you would ever know! And don't get lost in the garden maze... That'd be a waste of a life! Upupupu!"

Monokuma quickly disappeared again, leaving us in a bitter mood. Koneko helped Granberia up, and the two of them walked ahead, more wary of the other exhibits. Mayu looked to me, and I nodded, walking alongside of her.

What I wished I had noticed was that the woman in the black painting now had three, distinct claw marks on her neck.

Stepping even further inside, we saw other paintings and sculptures. Creepy dolls with ragged hair, a painting of a beautiful young blonde girl next to a pair of three roses; one yellow, one blue, one red, and even a painting of what looked to be someone splattered across a wall. That one nearly made me puke, and all I could do was retch and look away. What really stood out to me was that on a piano, a grand one at that, was a blue and yellow bunny folded lovingly. The nameplate under it said, "For River". The piano started playing by itself, a beautiful melody, if not somewhat nostalgia-inducing.

As we moved in further, I got that feeling when you were being watched. I saw an armored knight statue, and I swore it moved. Eventually, we came across an adorable black cat, lifelike in extreme detail. Its eyes seemed to pierce my very soul, which only made shivers run down my spine.

The painting at the back was haunting. A beautiful, young woman, naked as a newborn, was sitting inside some kind of giant sculpture. The sculpture was a large egg, darker than blackness itself. Under the incredibly detailed masterpiece was the name; Kara no Shoujo.

"Holy shit!" I turned to see Nari, Satoshi, and Kibou enter. Nari rushed past them and inspected the painting, "This can't be...!? This is real!?"

As Nari inspected it up close, I joked, "Didn't know you had an eye for paintings. You don't seem much of an artsy person."

Mayu chimed in, "I think I've seen this before, as well. In one of Nari's games."

"Games?" Kibou asked, overhearing all of this, "I like games."

"Not this kind," I quickly rebuttaled, "Take my word for it; your innocence will be shattered. In more ways than one."

Mayu walked a couple of steps closer, "Nari, is it legitimate?"

Nari pointed to the artist's signature and it confirmed everything. Mamiya Shinzo, plain as day.

This caught Mayu uncharacteristically off-guard, "No...that's not possible! Is it!? If that's..."

Nari turned to Mayu, a serious scowl on her face, "Library, now. We need to check this out."

As the two ran out, I tried to stop them, "Guys! What about-"

"I apologize, Shinji. Explore the rest of this area for us, if you could! We'll be back momentarily!" Mayu consoled me as she and Nari sped off towards the staircase.

Satoshi patted my back, trying to reassure me, "No worries. They're doing their own thing; it'll be fine."

"You seem really mellow, Satoshi. I thought you'd be more, well..." Koneko caught herself before she said something potentially harmful.

Kibou smiled as she joined his side, "I've been keeping his spirits up. He's always been so reliable, you know? He just needs us to support him."

"Still here, Kibou," Satoshi scolded her before breaking out into a slight grin, "Notice me."

That made Kibou's face turn a bright shade of red as she rushed out. Satoshi waved as he walked off after her, having teased her enough.

With that, Granberia, Koneko, and I marched out of the museum, having explored it fully.

"Well, that was a bust," Granberia firmly stated.

I scratched my ear, "Is that an art joke or a chest joke?" She swung all out at me, forcing me to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge, "If I can dodge a car, I can dodge yo-" she laid me out as I was talking smack.

Ignoring my pain, Koneko and Granberia went ahead, so I wallowed in pain behind them. The two girls and I eventually came across the largest building on this island so far; a giant warehouse.

We walked inside unhindered by the doors, which automatically opened up for us. Inside was rows upon rows upon rows of costumes. Upon further inspection, we soon discovered two dressing rooms on either side, with large mirrors and endless supplies to dress up inside.

"Wow..." Koneko's eyes sparkled as she looked from outfit to outfit, "Shizue's going to love it here."

The door opened, and a triumphant-looking Momiji walked in, before quickly sprinting to our side, "You called?" She looked around, and her jaw dropped, "Oh, my, gooood!"

"Weren't you watching Fuuko!?" I exclaimed, trying to regain her attention.

Momiji laughed off her responsibility. Wish I could do that. "Shinju's safe. They're talking in her cottage. There's no way Fuuko would hurt her sister."

As Momiji and Koneko ran around exploring the halls and checking out costumes, I sighed to myself.

Granberia pulled on my shirt, "Let's go. They'll turn this place upside down."

"I didn't know Koneko was that into dressing up, huh? There's lots I don't know... Or remember." I wasn't in the best mindset, but I couldn't discern why. Perhaps I was just in a foul mood?

Granberia and I left the warehouse, being greeted by Daisuke, Akihiko, and Takeshi, "You're surprisingly strong, Takeshi. If you ever wanted to train..." Akihiko was apparently offering him some kind of deal.

Takeshi shook his head, "I'm not good at anything. Except surviving."

Daisuke tried to touch him, but he moved out of the way, "Good reflexes, too. You could make a great cheerleader, if we could just fix that attitude."

Takeshi was noticeably sweating, and I couldn't help but laugh at his predicament, "What's so funny!?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just watching you make friends, is all," I teased him, earning his ire.

Takeshi muttered it under his breath, "...Friends. Thought I was done with that shit."

Akihiko folded his arms, "I wouldn't be against the idea if you were a bit kinder. I did befriend Nari, after all. You're not really that bad, right, Takeshi?"

"I..." He didn't argue as he normally would. Maybe the last trial had an effect on him, "Yeah, right. Look what friends got Daisuke!" Or not.

Daisuke didn't blow up this time. Instead, he offered an alternate opinion, "I was betrayed. I didn't know what Yoshikazu was really capable of, and I got punished for it."

"Exactly! That's my poi-" Takeshi was cut off.

"But... I would never sacrifice the time we had together. No matter how short it may have been, it meant something to me. And I'd rather make friends and lose them, than to be alone forever," Daisuke firmly gave his newly discovered ideal.

Takeshi didn't respond for a moment, "...Fine, whatever."

Only then did I remember something Emiko had told me. In that book she had found, she discussed that we were all selected in pairs. Takeshi's partner was Takumi, but he never mentioned remembering him. Could Takumi know anything about him?

"What's on your mind?" Granberia asked, that curious expression on her face so endearing, "Deep in thought all of a sudden."

Would it be wise of me to inform her of my quest for knowledge? If Takumi could give me any additional insight into Takeshi's character, we could really get this group working together again. In the end, I answered with a sly smirk, "Oh, nothing. Just wondering who will take over for Yoshikazu's duties is all."

Granberia shrugged, "Let's ask Nico, then." She walked off towards the next building, and I followed.

Building was stretching it a little. Or a lot, actually. The next area was simply a large stage, the kind you'd normally see in higher class schools. Never mind the sensitive electrical equipment placed outside, but why build it here? I noticed there were stage lights with long power cords running to several electrical outlets and other panels. This was just a mess of a design choice.

Nico and Takumi were both on stage, having some kind of heated conversation, "What if we get in trouble for unplugging everything, man!?" Takumi exclaimed.

Nico shook his head and reaffirmed his demand, "Don't care. Unplug it all. This is a health risk as long as it's this way."

"What's wrong, guys?" I asked.

Nico motioned for us to join him, "Help me take some of this stuff outta here. This place could be a risk. A bunch of wiring everywhere, who knows what kinds of accidents could happen if we're not careful."

Takumi groaned, "That's a lot of work, man. Would Monokuma even let us?"

Monokuma popped up out of nowhere, "This stage is for your performing pleasure! That being said! Go crazy! Unplug it, murder someone with it, that's all up to you!" Monokuma quickly escaped our sight as he so enjoyed.

"What an annoying asshole," Nico offhandedly commented, "I get enough of this in the youtube comments section."

"Oh yeah, you do that," I remembered, "You just play whatever you end up liking, right?"

Nico nodded, "Or whatever my fans make me play. It's not all bad, though. Being connected to a community is nice and all... I hope they're all doing well."

"You haven't done voices in a while, huh?" Takumi made an observation, "Maybe we can have like, a talent show with this stage. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

Nico scratched his chin, "Actually... That's a brilliant idea."

Granberia nudged Nico, who turned and looked down into her eyes, "Shinji's curious who's going to do Kaz's duties now."

Nico's eyes widened for a moment, "Ah, yes, we must reallocate the work. We'll discuss that when we reconvene."

"Takumi, hey, I uh... I need to talk to you about something later. Something important," I whispered to him.

Takumi chuckled, "Really? Me too, man! And sorry for the whole prank thing. You saved my ass in that trial, ahaha! You make a good friend!"

I didn't know if I believed what he just said. I just nodded and smiled.

Bidding them farewell, Granberia and I moved on towards the next new area to explore. I thought to myself instead of continuing the conversation, unsure what to think. This new area was aesthetically interesting, but beyond that, it only worried me.

My partner noticed my worried expression quite hastily, commenting, "Shinji, are you alright? You look pale, and you're sweating. More than usual."

"Lewd," I joked, trying to lighten the mood a little, "...I'm scared, Granberry. If someone will kill again, if we'll have to experience another trial..." I clenched my hands to ensure blood flow remained, since my hands were feeling unusually devoid of warmth.

Granberia remained quiet, as we walked around towards the gate. Like before, it was a large gate, and also like before, it was firmly shut and locked. Granberia finally answered my fears, "I'll protect you."

"But what if someone tries to kill you...?" I said, trying to remind her of her own mortality.

She casually dismissed the thought, "I can't die. I'm destined to succeed; I am one of the last of the illustrious Togami dynasty, after all."

Boy, did I want to believe that. "So, not going to try and pick this lock?" I knew she couldn't, but I had to be sure.

Granberia replied with her usual deadpan delivery, "Nope. I'm going to go feed Panterbell. Continue on without me."

Granberia walked off, leaving me alone. I knew I'd be safe; no one would try to kill so quickly after the last trial. I had faith no one would; that was what scared me the most.

It's hard, if not impossible, to go through life distrusting everyone. That kind of paranoia is unhealthy. Getting taken advantage of, that could be worse. I didn't want to have to expect that, but after what Kaz did, it cracked my very soul. Keeping myself together and in one piece was hard enough, but then there were the others whom I had emboldened myself to stand by, through thick and thin. If I became disheartened now...

The easternmost side, past the stage, curved upwards, slowly gaining altitude. The walk was killing my thighs, since the staircase we had used to get here felt eternal. Every step was progress, despite how it ached.

With a creepy garden maze, a seemingly haunted art museum, an enormous warehouse, and an outside stage with bad design choices, I was pleasantly surprised by the next building. Next was a computer lab.

I stepped inside, noticing the power cord from the stage area led over here. In the wall was an armada of outlets, and there were many computers spaced out. Checking one of the computers, I logged in with no need of a password and quickly discovered an abundance of art programs, code systems, and more. HTML tutorials, C++ books burned to CDs, videos on how to utilize photoshop and digital art creation, and more.

I had always been interested in becoming an actual artist, but I lacked faith in my ability to draw. With a computer's help, however, I might be able to...

The door opening shocked me out of my stupor. Mayu, Koneko, and Nari walked inside, happy to greet me, "There you are," Mayu said, sighing in relief.

"Oh, done with your research?" I asked, somewhat seriously, "And costume hunting?"

Koneko answered me first, excitedly as ever, "I got something awesome to show you later! For when you feel down and out!" Koneko winked at me, leaving me anxious and afraid to know what she meant by that.

Nari didn't say anything at first, just standing behind them before speaking very timidly, "What we found... isn't important. Nico asked us to meet back up at the cafeteria to discuss our findings, and Granberia directed us here."

I refused, "No can do. One last place to go, according to our handbook. Checking that first."

Mayu nodded in agreement, "Of course. Let us not dawdle, then."

Koneko and Nari left the building first, leaving Mayu and I alone for a moment, "Mayu, can I say something? Just in case I don't get to, later..."

Mayu folded her arms, glaring at me, "Talk like that isn't what we need now, Shinji. We have to stay strong."

I nodded, trying not to break down that facade of happiness I was putting on. Inside, I just wanted to break down and cry. I've wanted to since the trial. "You... really keep us in line. Remind us to keep our heads. You're invaluable to us all, Mayu, and especially to me. Shinju likes to reign me in, but the way you do it... I've always been a scatter brain, ahaha..."

She must not have expected me to open up like that, because her normally stalwart demeanor broke like glass, "Ahh...I s-see," Seeing her blush like a typical girl in love contrasted wonderfully with her forceful, confident personality, "I appreciate that, Shinji. We have all been trying our best. I could not keep myself together without you, Nari, and the others' support. When you first explained your situation to us, it was a divisive issue."

I remembered that meeting very... poorly, "No kidding. I wouldn't have even blamed you guys for stabbing me to death or something."

Mayu continued, "But... the safety and camaraderie we feel when we're together... Even the feelings I've developed... For Nari, and Shinju... Koneko... Shizue and Granberia... They're all special to me. I finally began to understand what you meant."

"I did pick, like, the best girls to fall in love with, huh? Making all of you question your sexuality, haha!" I rarely laughed honestly, and it felt good to, "I never expected that, but... Who could have?"

Mayu reached her hand out to me ever so slowly and methodically, "I, um, would like to walk with you like this. Is that... okay?" That timid expression, the hesitation in her voice. No matter how strong some people may seem, deep down they have a tender, warm side. I was just blessed that I could see hers.

I intertwined my fingers with hers and quickly gave her a light peck on her cheek before leading the both of us out the door to catch up to Koneko and Nari. That moment is one I'll never forget. No matter what came next, it was things like this that kept me going and giving me hope through that nightmare.

But hope can only go so far...

Trailing behind the excited neko and the still somewhat crestfallen Nari, I decided to strike up a conversation with the two of them, "Nari, I uh... Are you alright?" She stopped moving and looked at me, that familiar glare making me hesitate, "I know you must be... Losing your best friend is hard..."

"I don't need your sympathy..." Nari quickly rebuked me with her rigid personality, not letting me argue, "Let's just finish exploring and head back."

With that harsh comeback, I submitted to her fierce will. Eventually, we rounded the final curve up the mountain path and found... A cliff? That's it, a cliff that overlooked the area just after the stairs to get here. The drop must have been forty, fifty feet?

"That's not safe at all," Mayu stated the obvious, "Seriously, we're going to have to tell Nico about this."

I shook my head, "Everyone should know. Just in case someone accidentally finds this area."

Nari reminded me, "And if someone uses this drop to kill?"

Koneko licked her right hand absentmindedly, "No way. Once you say it like that, it can't happen. Too obvious."

Despite her flawed logic, I didn't feel any better about it. Regardless, we all quickly made our way back to the courtyard in the first area to discuss our plan of action, as expected.

When the four of us arrived, Kenji joked, "About time. Don't go missing on us already. Stories like ours need pacing, you know."

Kibou didn't agree with that sentiment, "This isn't a story, Kenji. Reality, remember?"

Nico cleared his throat, "Ahem, I am the leader now. This is my meeting to hold. First, thanks to some suggestions, I am appointing new chore workers. Hanako volunteered herself to aid us, in order to fill Yoshikazu's duties. Unfortunately, her cooking skills are not of the best kind, so Mayu insisted we let her create our traditional cuisine."

Mayu nodded, confirming Nico's announcement, "Like Hanako, I was trained in such things. I am certain to do my best to ensure everyone here has enjoyable meals here on out."

Kenji patted Hanako on the head, who closed her eyes in contentment, "Nice of you to offer, Hanako. I know you'll do your best."

"Get a room, you two," Aki nudged Kenji with his elbow, "For your sake, I hope it's dark."

Kibou pouted, "That was rude, Akihiko."

Akihiko shrugged, "What? They're my OTP of this group."

Hanako turned to Kenji, confused, "What does that mean?"

Kenji merely groaned in annoyance, "We're not some romance couple for you to play around with. Even if we are the only true couple here."

"Oh, so you're familiar with the terms in the shipping community?" Nari was teasing them now, a more light-hearted kind we'd rarely seen.

"What!? No! I just heard it from Shizue, I swear!" Kenji backpedaled to defend himself, but we were relentless.

Daisuke scratched his chin, "I dunno, man. You used it like a pro."

Kenji blushed and loudly demanded, "Get on with the meeting. I have things to do."

Nico reluctantly saved Kenji from his amusing predicament, "So, everyone. Now that we have that covered, it would be the time to discuss our findings. Starting with what Takumi and I looked into, we investigated the stage."

Takumi jumped in, happy to contribute for once, "It's odd to place it outside, and where they put it is pretty inconvenient. Power cords running to the warehouse, maybe three-hundred feet of power cables and outlets? Shoddy job for even a rookie electrician, to be sure."

"It's a general hazard, so I'd like for us to unhook all of that and transport it to the warehouse, immediately after this meeting," Nico was firmly leading us, an interesting shift in the power dynamics here.

Hanako took to the floor to open up a second topic, "The garden maze is kind of...creepy. We felt as if we were being watched. Even the outside area around it... suggests that it's not to be entered on a whim."

"Heard growling coming from within," Kenji added, "Wolves, most likely. What kind of sadist puts wolves into garden mazes?"

"Evil midgets..." Nari said without hesitation. Like I wanted to be reminded of that bastard, Salazar.

Nico laughed a bit, "Biohazard references aside, I think it's clear that we shouldn't wander in there at any cost."

Satoshi affirmed this, "Agreed. Kibou and I also posted up sign-in sheets everywhere. We won't be strictly maintaining them, but it's best if you want to maintain a stable alibi. Naturally, Kenji has agreed to put cameras up later to monitor the sheets to guarantee their authenticity."

Kibou smiled, "The art museum was cool! It had this weird vibe to it, but I thought it was cool. Like, some dark magic kind of place." She had odd tastes, huh?

Satoshi sweated a bit from his brow, "Uh...what?"

Nari took center stage to discuss what she felt was important, "The art museum is not to be trifled with. In the back, there's an art piece. It's said to inspire insanity in those who engage with it. Under no circumstances should you interact with it."

"Scared of a painting?" Daisuke choked on his own laughter, "That's your weakness!?"

"That reminds me..." Akihiko thought aloud, "Emiko was a painter, yeah? Is that why you know so much about art?"

Nari flashed a look of pain for such a brief moment before responding in a slightly shaken voice, "Yes, that's true. When we were younger, I would do research to aid in her hobby."

Aki sighed, "Sorry. I didn't mean to open old wounds." He legitimately looked sorry, surprisingly aware of her feelings for once. Then again, they may have argued, but neither meant the other actual harm.

"Then there's the warehouse," Shizue was herself again, having put her primal side behind her, "Filled with costumes, make up, cameras, sound equipment. We could make, like, a found film footage with all of what's in there."

Kibou poked Satoshi, "Hey! You can direct like you've always wanted."

"You want to be a director?" Takumi asked, "I mean, someone as uptight as you would be good for it."

Satoshi was unsure whether that counted as an actual compliment or not, "Thank you?"

Kibou continued, "Satoshi always wanted to make a movie. To reach out to people, you know? Wonderful way to espouse your personal values."

"I just think it's hard to express myself otherwise," Satoshi admitted, his cheeks a slightly redder color.

Granberia regained the group's attention, "The meeting is still going. We have two more places of interest to discuss." Panterbell, who was sitting in Granberia's lap, meowed to confirm her statement.

I finally addressed the others, "The last building is some kind of art media center. There's a bunch of programming systems, tutorials, digital media guides, art programs, and more. It's a whole computer lab dedicated to the arts!"

"You sound excited about that," Koneko pointed that out, though it should have been clear.

"I've always wanted to learn things like that! My interest in art has never wavered," I firmly explained myself, "What with being stuck here, I need something to occupy my time."

Takumi added, with a grin, "You mean, other than girls?"

Koneko hijacked the conversation at just the right time, "Oh, right! At the end of the pathway is this huge drop off cliff! It's dangerous, so we should steer clear of it. Period. No exceptions."

Mayu reaffirmed her stance, "Absolutely. I can't begin to imagine how badly you could be harmed by going near it."

Nico couldn't argue with that, "Well, I can't argue with that. That'll be a new unofficial rule, then. No treading near the cliff. I wouldn't want any of us to get hurt or killed."

Someone disapproved of that, "You're so boring!" We shifted our attention to Monokuma, who must have been watching us, "Especially since Izuru himself is coming to challenge you guys this time! That's right; the final boss is dealing with you this early! Amazing, right!? These kinds of twists are what I live for!"

"Your two-tone ass only lives to make us suffer," Shinju harshly remarked.

Monokuma laughed a bit, "Oh, come now. I haven't even delivered your second motive yet! Must you be so rude!?"

"Isn't it a bit early to dispense a motive?" Nico did have a point, "It's been less than half a day."

"The last case took five days! That's too long! We need to keep the ball rolling!" Monokuma acted as nonchalant as ever, "So I have prepared a motive for just this moment!" He snapped his fingers, and a box appeared behind him.

Nari walked towards Monokuma, her fists ready to strike, "You monster... You intend to force us to suffer more!? How much are you going to take from us, you sick bastard!?"

"Calm down, lady! Let me get my motive out there!" Monokuma dodge rolled away from her, showing off his advanced robotic design, "Everyone, I have different slips for each of you! So... Hah!"

The slips sailed through the air, and the one with my name landed right in front of me, "What is this?"

Monokuma shrugged, "No idea. Keep what's on that slip to yourself. It's... what I expect you want the most. And whatever is on that list, we can grant!" Monokuma snickered, "But only for one of you lucky winners! Now get to killing!"

He ran off, giving us some time to stand and stare at our respective papers. Our number one wish, huh? I doubted that they would ever be so kind.

Takumi ripped his open as quickly as he could, "Woah... This is fuckin' awesome!"

Daisuke snatched it away from him, "Asuna's love, huh? What? You a Sword Art fan?"

Takumi grabbed for his slip, "Give it back, man! And no! It's a real girl!"

Nico sounded like Pinocchio as he repeated, "A real girl!" Daisuke couldn't help laughing at that, allowing Takumi to grab his slip back.

Akihiko came in between Daisuke and Takumi, "Stop it. We shouldn't be messing around with these damn slips. Shouldn't even open them. Let's just gather them and burn them."

"But-" Kenji wanted to argue.

"No, he's right," Satoshi didn't sound too happy about it, "We can't risk it." Akihiko nodded and took Takumi's. One by one, he asked us for ours, and we obliged, handing it over. Finally, there was only one left to gather.

"Takeshi, give it here," Akihiko said as firmly as ever, "Without trouble, if you could."

We all expected Takeshi to make our life a living hell now. Argue, walk away, tell us to screw ourselves, the usual. But he didn't do any of that. He just, very slowly, passed his slip into Akihiko's hand, even to his surprise, "What? I'm doing what you asked for. Tch," he spat to the ground in disgust, though I felt he was faking it.

Akihiko pulled a lighter out of his back pocket and lit the papers on fire on the ground, waiting for the blackened strips of paper to turn into ash before stomping it into the ground for good measure, "There, that's taken care of. Monokuma might not be too happy about this, but I couldn't care."

Hanako checked her watch, "It's pretty late, now. Four PM... I need to gather the laundry!" Hanako ran off to presumably do what she just mentioned, and Kenji followed after, bowing to us before exiting stage right.

Nico sighed, "Well, I guess it's okay to end it here. The meeting is adjourned. Takumi, Takeshi, Akihiko, with me. I need your aid."

Once again, Takeshi obliged, much to everyone's shock, "Fine, let's get it over with. Faster it's done, faster I'll be left alone."

As they left, Daisuke pointed this oddity out, "Damn. He's changed, huh? Never thought I'd see the day."

"After what we went through, we all have..." I reminded him, "I'll be going to my room to be alone for a bit."

I bid farewell to the others before entering my room. I felt a bit drained, thinking of what could have been written on that paper. Most of us didn't even check ours, but I couldn't help but wonder. Could I... Would mine be...?

I heard a knock at my door, but before I could decide whether to open it up or not, Monokuma burst in, "That was quite ballsy of you all to crush my motive right off the bat, you know. I should just punish you all..."

I sweated after he said that, "That would be too boring, though. There's no way you'd end the game like that." Though the thought was as relieving as it was sickening.

Monokuma chuckled, "Maaaaybe! But that's why I'm here! To shake things up! So I'll tell you yours!"

"I'm not going to kill for you!" I shouted back, "I'd never betray my friends!"

Monokuma placed a hand on his chin, "Really? Even for the ones you love?"

"Yes, even for-" I stopped. I couldn't get the words out as hard as I tried. No, I couldn't listen to him. If I did, I'd be clouding my own judgment. I could never kill someone! I'd rather die! ...But if I did, then I'd just hurt them. Wouldn't that be even more selfish of me...?

"Wracking your brain? I know, it's hard! But the second you consider accepting this deal, you couldn't very well keep your protagonist status, now could you?" Monokuma was mocking me, and I hated it. I hated him, and this game, and watching everybody suffer.

I stood my ground, "Get out. I won't be tempted by you! I know better!"

Monokuma's ears lowered as if he was disappointed, "Very well. I pray for their safety, if you won't."

I didn't even wait for him to leave, opening the door and pushing him out. That bastard must have thought he had me, but I refused to give in.

To try and remove the bad feeling I had, I realized I had some free time. How would I spend it?

Later that evening, I was heading from the park to my cottage alongside Koneko, who had gone for a jog with me, "I feel great! I needed that distraction..." She stretched her body out, reminding me of how flexible she was. Girl, damn, "Hentai."

"I'm not a pervert!" I tried to argue with her, but her serious stare forced me to concede, "Okay, maybe a little bit. Sheesh..." I took out a small bottle of water and gulped it down, "I'm too tired to act responsibly, right now."

Koneko giggled, "It's okay, I'm just teasing you. You know I love that side of you, too..." I looked at her face, her grey eyes peering into mine, before we met with a single kiss. That familiar feeling of her lips against mine brought me peace, if only for a moment.

I broke it off, "I love you, my little kitten." I held her close, feeling her heart beat. Being this close reminded me of how warm she was, how soft she felt, the small movements her ears made whenever I spoke to her quietly.

She knocked me out of my stupor when she touched my cheek, "I love you, too. ...Baka."

"Not you, too," I groaned, "I get that all the time enough as it is."

Koneko laughed, "So what're you thinking about?"

"You," I honestly answered.

Koneko rolled her eyes, "Wow, mushy, much? Or still being a hentai?"

I tried to explain, "What I mean is that it's refreshing to be with you, like this. It was still a bit surprising to see how you had changed from when we first arrived," I was struggling to find the right words again, "You were so quiet, so taciturn, but now you're freely expressing yourself. I guess some people just needed support to really bloom."

"I guess you could say you watered me, then?" She tried to continue the metaphor.

I joked at her expense, "Oh, boy, were you ever thirsty. I wonder if this is what Jun did for me, all that time ago..." I trailed off, striking one of my own nerves.

Koneko sighed, "Still upset over that?"

This is when a sudden flash of insight came to mind, "Right! I almost forgot! Koneko, tomorrow, can you tell the others, you know who, to meet me in the hot springs? I have something I need to do."

Koneko's head tilted as I asked this, but she agreed with a smile, "Of course, Shinji. For you, I'll do it."

I blushed when she said this, "Special treatment, huh? I am not used to that."

I bid Koneko farewell at the cafe as she made herself a drink. Once I got back to my cottage, I noticed the door was cracked open. Suspicious, I stepped inside with an exclamation, "Who's there!?"

Nari, in her now disheveled uniform, turned to see me. There were tear stains on either cheek, "Shinji... Sorry I broke in. I just..."

"Thinking about Emiko...?" I asked.

She cried loudly as she fell into my arms, "Why!? Why did she have to die!?"

"Nari!? What did you say earlier? No need for my sympathy?" I knew now wasn't a time to be critical, but for Nari it was almost a necessity.

Nari looked up to me, tears leaking out, "I lied, okay!? I wanted to be strong, but I can't! I loved her, Shinji! She was my only family left! I couldn't protect her! I failed her!" She came closer and clung to me, sobbing into my chest.

I held Nari close to me, listening to her berate herself before I thought up my response, "Nari, I know what you mean. When Jun died... It was all my fault. I wanted to die, I wanted to give up and just throw my life away."

"Then why didn't you? Why are you still here!?" She asked through her tears, her voice shaking wildly.

"Because she wouldn't want me to lay down and die, Nari. Just like Emiko wants you to survive." I wasn't a therapist or anything, but I was trying.

Nari let me go and fell back onto the bed, arms outstretched, "I know that! I know! It's hard to let go! It's hard to move on!"

I sighed, "Then don't. Carry her death with you to the end," I bluntly replied, "If you move on, if you become jaded, then you lose that spark we all have."

"What do you mean?" Nari asked, unsure of what I was expressing.

I spent a few moments trying to piece together the words to relay what I meant. In those few moments of silence, Nari struggled not to cry as I thought to myself, attempting to regain control of herself. That silence was necessary for me to think. Not everything comes quickly to people.

Eventually, I began, "Some people close their hearts off and refuse to love again. Others feign joy and never really come to terms with their pain. Even more people bury all of those thoughts and never touch them again. None of those are good. Emotions are great to feel alive, and feigning joy is just avoiding the truth. Burying the thoughts, repression... It works, but it takes the good times, too."

Nari thought on that for a moment, "...I'm not sure I understand."

"Then, an example," I offered, "One day, Jun and I were messaging each other on the computer, just having a laugh. It was storming out, and she decided she needed to go turn the heater on. When she returned, she mistyped and told me she was wrapped up in a nice, warm, balnket."

"A what?"

I laughed, "That's what I said. It was so amusing to me, and I asked her from what foreign country she was raised in to have such mysterious objects. We made a real joke of it, and neither of us could stop from laughing. Or the time my dad yelled to us both on a video call about the oven being a candy ass fuck. Things like that, I'd forget if I repressed her memories."

Nari nodded for a moment, "Emiko once accidentally drew porn. She had come across a biology book, and when art class came, she showed everyone what she had found inside. Chapter thirteen, the reproductive system," Nari smiled a bit as she recalled this tale, "She acted so innocent and shocked when the teacher flipped, but afterwards, she told us how great it felt to prank her teacher for punishing me. I'd gotten into an argument with a classmate, and they made me cry. The teacher took their side. That was when Emiko and I really became close."

I placed my hand on her soft brown hair and patted her gently, "Remember those times. She may be gone, but she'll always be your best friend. Share those memories with me, write them down, but don't forget. That's all we can do for her now."

"I think I get it now," Nari nodded after saying that, "Shinji... I'm thankful that you're here for me. I really am, even if I sometimes seem like I don't."

I put my arm around her, holding her close as she tentatively looked up at me, "I know you are. I'm just as thankful for you to be here with someone like me."

With that tender moment, we both fell asleep on top of the bed, still fully dressed, having been exhausted from the recent events. I dreamt of my friends, and I wanted now more than ever to save them all.

I awoke when thunder struck right outside at two in the morning. It was raining and thundering pretty hard, reminding me of how I felt.

I got to my feet and walked into the other room and noticed the front door was open. I stepped outside, the darkness only rarely illuminated by flashes of lightning in the distance.

Once, twice, it flashed, but on the third lightning strike, I saw Monokuma, who turned to me, "What if I told you... That your loved ones will die next? What I told you that someone plans to kill one of them? Or more?"

"Are you still on about this!?" I exclaimed, "I'll never give in to you!"

Monokuma chuckled, "Are you suuuuure? I bet Emiko thought her friends were faithful, too! Are the lives of your friends more valuable to you than the lives of your beloved? And saving seven out of the sixteen of you? That's nearly half, guaranteed!"

I refused to listen to his attempts to sway me as the rain fell. Killing someone and sacrificing the others to save some of us? I could never!

...Right?


	24. Chapter Two Daily Life Part Two

**(continued from Part One)**

 **Monokuma's Theater 5#**

The silly song began playing as Monokuma showed up on stage once more, as if we somehow enjoyed these cut aways for his random nonsensical topics, "Red food is bad for you all, children! We put crab in all of the red food to make you sick! How can we trust big business if it forces horrible chemicals down our throats? We have to rise up and defend ourselves! We'll call ourselves Monokuma's Army, and defeat the lawyer who must not be named!" And with that exciting announcement, the curtains came down and the theater ended once more.

"Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make... Gooooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Everyone should think hard on their motive and if they truly want it or not today!"

Monokuma's morning announcement woke me up, annoying me as we had returned to this schedule. I had told Monokuma off that morning and crawled back into bed. I looked over to Nari, who was breathing gently, her eyes closed and her body close to me.

Laying there, I quickly achieved a painful migraine as thoughts ran through my mind. Most were likely of the previous simulations, times spent with everyone. A few though, stood out to me as being from my childhood. I never remembered that time of my life well, but it felt like something was gnawing at me to remember.

I prodded Nari a couple of times, "Time to wake up, Beauty Queen. We have a meeting to attend to."

Nari grunted and slowly stretched her limbs out before reluctantly getting up, "Hey, Shinji... I needed that rest, ahaha."

"It's good to rest after what we've seen," I bitterly commented on our situation, "I just wish we could wake up from this nightmare."

After half an hour of procrastinating, stretching, taking a quick shower, and getting dressed, the two of us walked down to the courtyard, where all of the others awaited us.

Shinju greeted us with a smile and a cheery demeanor, "Nari, Shinji! I'm happy to see you both look better. I was worried about you."

Nari rolled her eyes, "Worried? I'm a strong girl, you know. I can take on the world."

"While clutching a stuffed teddy bear," Granberia interjected, smirking when Nari glared at her, "Don't worry, it's cute."

"W-whatever, it's not like I need it or anything..." Nari was blushing furiously, and it was particularly amusing to me.

Akihiko laughed, watching us from a distance, "There's the Nari we've come to know."

Satoshi, who was talking to Kenji, added, "That's good. We need to... think of a way to get away from these bastards, still."

"Bastard? That's not a new one," We all turned to see Izuru standing before us, his hair moving slightly in the breezes blowing past, "Mind your manners, Satoshi. Before I tell you what I did to the last student council president."

Daisuke took a step forward, "What do you want?" He posed threateningly towards Izuru, clearly not okay with his presence here.

Izuru opened his arms up and shrugged, "I feel as if your investigation is lacking. Perhaps a few tidbits would help you move along. You must remember, I want this mystery solved for the sake of the world. If Ultimate Despair were to escape, why, who knows how many countless people would die..."

"Like you're not one of them? Like you're not responsible, too!?" Nico exclaimed in his high-pitched nerdy voice.

"If you just do it, everything will be fine. That is what... the one most precious to me said. I am following her whims," Izuru calmly explained, his icy demeanor reminding us of his "Ultimate" status.

Akihiko folded his arms and glared at him with contempt, "She would never approve of this."

Izuru looked away from his piercing glare, "Even so... I'm creating this future. I came here to inform you that the two suspects are both still alive and well. With two of the Despair Fragments, we are one step closer to solving this case."

"Why don't you just tell us who it is so we can end 'em!?" Takeshi yelled out, "Kill two birds with one stone!"

Izuru grimaced at this, "My goal is not to ensure their demise. My goal is to ensure their... rehabilitation. This game is what I proposed would suffice. Considering your rebellious nature towards Kuma's new motive, I suppose it's well-deserved."

"You're just sick," Kibou shocked us with that outburst, "You're a sick individual, Izuru. Out of our sight. We want nothing to do with your kind!"

Izuru shook his head, "As you wish." He walked away, leaving us to our thoughts. One by one, we scattered, unsure what to say or do or think.

Seizing my chance, I snuck away from the others and grabbed a hold of Takumi, "You, with me. library, now."

Pulling him along with me, we made our way into the attic of the library, when I finally let go, "God, dude! Why did you drag me up here!?"

"You went to school with Takeshi, right?" Takumi hesitantly nodded, "Do you know anything about him? His talent, or his personality?"

Takumi ran his hand through his hair, "Man, no way! He was always a loner, kept his distance! I once read a newspaper, though. He saved some, like, young girl from a serial killer. She started calling him Big Brother and shit. A couple of my buds made fun of him for it, and he beat their ass."

I thought about that for a moment, "Wonder if it's a sore spot for him? Got any names?"

Takumi sighed, "Sachiko something or other. Just a young girl of 8 or 9. Takeshi went to the same orphanage as her. Only time he ever smiled was around her, allegedly. Why do you care?"

"I was just curious what you knew about him. Do you know his talent?" I was worried that Takeshi's talent might be a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I was hoping Takumi could enlighten me on his circumstances.

"Hell if I know. I had as little friends as it is, no way could I ask him about stuff like that," he chuckled, "Is now a good time to ask for that favor?"

Favor? "What do you need?"

Takumi blushed a bit, kicking the ground with his foot, "I want to learn to... talk to girls. You know, nicely. If I can use my time here to refine myself, forge a new me, then I have to take it, right?"

"Takumi... You care about your image all of a sudden?" I joked around with him, but he remained serious.

"I annoy people, and I come off as a dick. It's lonely. You're one of the few people to give me the time of day, and I bother you, too," Takumi's expression showed his pain, "Emiko and I had this, mutual understanding, though. We treated each other as rivals, and now... She's dead, and it's my fuckin' fault. If I don't change... I feel like I'll hurt someone else I love."

Well, how could I refuse a man in a situation like his? Takumi could be perverse and annoying, but deep down he wasn't necessarily a bad person. "No promises, but I'll try my hardest. I'm not much for being social, but I'm sure I can get help if it's needed."

Takumi grinned wider than I had ever seen before, and he gave me the tightest bear hug he could possibly manage, "That means so much to me, man! I owe you my life!"

"Don't say it like that," I was blushing a bit, unused to having such close bonds with people. Not since the incident.

Together, we moved up towards the stage, where I made Takumi stand on it, "Dude, I feel self-conscious up here."

"Kinda the point. Now we're going to pretend I'm a girl you're trying to talk to," I explained as succinctly as possible, "I need to know what issues you have."

Takumi nodded, "Understood. I know just what to do..." Takumi cleared his throat, "Nice tits, love." I smacked him without hesitation, "Ah, my face!"

I shook my head in utter disappointment, "First off, don't compliment right off the bat. Say your name; introduce yourself or comment on their attire. Second, don't patronize. It demeans others, makes them feel like they're just a pretty face."

"Damn, dude. Are you a woman in the mind?" He asked, probably not trying to offend.

I was tempted to hit him, but instead, I decided to invite Granberia for backup.

After inviting Granberia to help me teach Takumi to refine his personality and instructing him with strict rules and expectations, he eventually began to make progress before crashing. Granberia graciously allowed me to carry him into his cottage as she unlocked the door, and we left him there.

With that venture being done, we headed to the hot springs. It was around five in the evening by now, but that didn't perturb me from putting my plan into fruition.

As Granberia and I walked back to our destination, I decided to ask, "You feeling alright, Granberia? With everything that's been happening, I just want to remind you I'm here for you."

Granberry stopped moving, and I faced her as she crossed her arms and eventually responded, "Kaz meant a lot to me, Shinji. To all of us, most likely. I can't shut off those painful memories cropping up... Emiko's corpse, what he did... It bothers me too."

"I wouldn't know. You're so cool and casual," I admitted, "I'm open to talk." I sighed, wishing I had rehearsed this beforehand.

Granberry just smiled at me, a rare occurrence considering how she masked her own feelings so often, "I love you too, princess. Make sure dinner's on the table when I get home." She said it with such a serious demeanor one could easily take her by her word.

I patted her on the head, and though she glared at me, she definitely didn't disapprove, "I know, Kuudere of Justice."

We didn't say much more once we entered the pool building and split up to traverse the locker rooms. I spent a bit of time dressing up in my swimming trunks, hoping I wasn't in a Nintendo game or I'd be censored.

Inside the steamy hot springs, I noticed everyone else was wearing their swimsuits. I almost forgot what I had come to do, but I was quickly reminded when I noticed the box I had placed on the nearby bench earlier today. Rather, I had Koneko place it here for me just before everyone else arrived.

"It's nice to gather and just relax for once," Shinju absently stated, soaking to her neck in the wonderfully warm water. There wasn't much steam this time, so we could see everybody clearly.

Only at this moment did I wonder if giving out this gift set of mine was a bad idea in the springs, but anywhere else we might be interrupted, and people were especially wary of nearing the pool ever since the murder had occurred.

Nari slipped into the water next to Shinju, "So what's this meeting all about, huh, Shinji?"

I quickly placed the box on the rock in the middle, thankful it had places to store things, "Well, I wanted to give you all something. Something important."

Shizue was more excitable than usual, "Really!? What is it!? What is it!?"

I opened the larger box and handed to each of them a smaller box from inside, "Granberia might recognize this. Kibou and Yoshikazu helped me forge and carve them myself."

One by one, the boxes were opened, and each of them had a surprised expression, "A gold ring...?" Shizue spoke up first.

I lifted my right hand, a similar gold ring on mine, "I made four back in the day for Jun, Kiyo, Takuro, and I. After Jun died, I hid mine away. When I found Takuro's ring in that box in the attic, I had confirmation he..."

"Shinji..." Koneko's ears folded, "I know you miss him greatly."

"So I have Jun's and Takuro's placed away," I continued, "I decided to make one for all of you," I tried to keep my voice from cracking, "Even should our paths split off, if some of us don't survive, these will always remind us of the bonds we made here."

Mayu analyzed hers, "Labels on it? 'To my mature beauty.' Do you mean...me?" When I nodded, she blushed, "Oh, I-I did not expect this."

I laughed, "Yeah, I gave them all labels. Kiyo was the insightful intellectual. He insisted on alliteration. Takuro was my bleeding heart bestie. Worked hard, felt a lot for others, always made a good impression."

"'To my naughtiest Neko', huh? What is that supposed to mean?" Koneko tried glaring at me, but she had a smirk on her face, giving away how she truly felt.

"Oh, nothing. I know you totally didn't destroy the scratching posts in the supermarket," I reminded her, "Or hid Nari's snacks in her own cottage," I enjoyed teasing her.

Koneko blushed wildly, "Okay, enough, enough! Stop talking!"

Nari glared at Koneko, "I'm buying a spray bottle," Koneko hissed at her, "Then behave!"

Granberia happily observed hers before putting it on, "Awe. 'To my level-headed lover', huh? I guess I do love physical contact..." Granberia rolled her eyes when Nari winked at her, "Not like that. Well, not exclusively..."

Shinju stood up and walked over to me before wrapping her arm around me and pushing me into the water, "A sassy beast, huh!? What's with the snark!?"

Shizue, who had been surprisingly quiet when she got hers, finally addressed her ring, "I'm a sensual sweetheart, hm? I like that name."

I nodded, "I was searching my memories from those past simulations. I found out a few names that we may have addressed each other as," I trailed off when another migraine felt incoming, "Along with some other childhood memories, ahaha."

Nari helped me to my feet, "Of all the things... You could have labeled me a carnal companion or a sinister succubus. But of course, lover boy over here goes with..." She trailed off, blushing a bit, "I can't..." She sighed, "You... 'To my rival romantic.'"

"I think Shinju can attest to how pure your love can be," I reminded her, "You may act all professional, but your heart has depth."

"What does yours say, huh?" Shinju asked, still a bit huffy about hers.

I held my hand out to her, "Originally never labeled it. I had it added."

Shinju laughed a bit, "Ah, this works. The Saccharine Manwhore. You are excessively sentimental, aren't you?"

Nari sat hers down on the rock, just looking at it from afar, "Shinji, is this about your guilt?" I gave her a confused look, "You don't need to give us things to make us feel equal, you know."

Granberia agreed on that point, "I love it. I just hope you understand it's not necessary."

"I think it is..." I argued, "If anything, it means we all have a connection with each other, no matter what," I didn't mean to sound pessimistic, but we were in a really awful situation, "The look on your faces was enough for me, anyways."

"We've come a long way since we all arrived here," Shizue noted, "We had fights and disagreements, but we're all the stronger for it."

Nari nodded, "Before I came here, I only ever had Emiko. If it wasn't for you guys, I might have..."

Shinju drew Nari close and gently held her, "It's okay, honey. I'm here for you."

Mayu smiled at the two of them, "Then perhaps we shall celebrate? I could prepare us a wonderful meal to end the day with. Everyone's favorites."

As everyone talked excitedly, myself included, I couldn't stop from smiling, from being genuinely happy. Seeing everyone else get along and be so close, I couldn't help it. I was more motivated than ever before to ensure that every single one of us escaped this place with our lives in tact.

Not long after that meeting, the seven of us headed back to the courtyard where Mayu began working on dinner for everyone. Soon, all of the others joined us, and Nico eventually took to addressing us all, "Can I have your attention?"

Akihiko motioned for the rest of us to quiet down, "Yeah, boss?"

Nico began, "I was reviewing the previous killer games, and what I found to be an alarming trend was the eventual dissolution of trust amongst the students. As such, Shizue, Satoshi, and I have planned to entertain and unite with a talent show."

"A talent show?" Hanako exclaimed, "That sounds fun!"

Takeshi sighed loudly, "Do we have to participate in this bullshit?"

Nico nodded, "Of course! We need to build camaraderie!"

Akihiko sighed, "I'll be security, then. I am not tolerating any trouble-making or suspicious activity."

Daisuke nodded, "Same thing, man. We need to protect our friends."

The two exchanged a high five as the rest of us began thinking aloud, "What talents do you want?" Mayu asked, likely due to her wide range of abilities.

"Whatever you prefer," Nico explained, "Surprise me," he took out his handbook, "Just keep it safe. No juggling fire or sword swallowing."

Granberia responded with that same deadpan snark, "We're high school students, not a circus."

Shinju thought to herself, "Talent, huh? What should I do...?"

Nico chuckled, "I'm kind of anxious to see what you guys come up with. The talent show will be the evening the day after tomorrow. This will give us appropriate time to set up the stage and it should be ample time for all of you to practice in the meanwhile."

With that, we were dismissed, and I fell asleep with the thoughts of what I'd end up doing weighing on my mind.

 **Monokuma Theater 6#**

The stage curtains opened up and Monokuma chuckled, "Planning a talent show? That sounds great! I used to love them, but one day I realized I had nothing to contribute! I mean, I'm a very dexterous bear, but that didn't impress anymore..."

No one in the audience spoke, instead nodding as if the other Monokumas understood his conflict.

"Getting sidetracked again! What I wanted to talk about is this! The theory of the degrees of separation!" The audience quieted, and some less wacky music played as Monokuma donned glasses and pulled out a wooden yardstick, smacking a newly revealed blackboard with pictures drawn in chalk.

"A long time ago, in the mysterious year of 1929, a man named Frigyes Karinthy, a Hungarian poet, theorized that everyone and everything is chained together by six degrees of separation. That if you know someone, and they know someone, and they know someone, you can connect yourself to every human on Earth!"

Everyone in the audience looked to each other and gasped, since they (quite obviously) all knew each other, and Monokuma continued, "Why is this important!? Well, first, it makes you wonder how true it is. As for why I brought it up... Upupupupu! That's a secret!"

With that, the scene ended.

I awoke to a knock at my door. This had become a normal occurrence, someone waking me up. The schedule that Mayu had made to ensure we were never alone had been useful in assuaging our worries and keeping us all feeling connected. Takeshi complained about the system at times, but mostly because he had to leave his room every once in awhile.

I hurried to dress myself and headed over to the door. Opening it gently, Kenji greeted me with a smirk, "Sup, dude. Got somethin' to do with you."

"Huh?"

"Mayu was your partner for now, but Takumi asked her out. To train him for the talent show, I guess," Kenji scratched his cheek with his right hand, "So she asked me to hang with you instead. So I got an idea..."

I motioned for him to continue, "Go ahead."

Kenji looked around to ensure we were alone before he continued, "I got the idea to check out Emiko's stuff. She had that book from the library and some other stuff, and I thought there might be a clue to help us fight back."

That was actually a not wholly awful idea, so I nodded, "Fine, let's do it."

That was how Kenji and I set out and, using my spare, snuck into Emiko's cottage. The inside was lightly decorated with posters of some of Nari's favorite games, and a couple of book posters as well.

Kenji quickly sniffed out what he was looking for, that black bound book. Before he could grab it, we were both called out, "Hey!"

I tried to explain ourselves as Nari stepped inside, glaring at the two of us, "We were just looking for any useful information is all, honest. We're not raiding her drawers or anything."

Nari slid inside and grabbed the black book from us, flipping through the pages casually, "Just information on us, nothing usefu-... " She closed the book, "I'll hold onto this. Just in case."

Kenji tried to snag it from her, but she easily dodged him and stepped away, "Come on! What if there's sensitive information in there!"

"Then I'll do us all a favor and hide it away," Nari replied with that strict, commanding tone she carried. She opened the door and made her way to her own cottage.

I laughed at our predicament, "Well, that was awkward. She's not mad, thankfully."

"She's hiding something," I rolled my eyes, but Kenji insisted, "I swear on it, I'll prove it!"

I removed myself from the cottage, "Whatever you say, kind sir. Don't get carried away again."

Deciding to spend my day a bit differently, I took Satoshi, Kibou, and Nico to the arcade, where we became engrossed in a game of 'Mansion of the Zeds'.

Satoshi loudly screeched, his high-pitched yelp hurting my ears as a zombie overwhelmed him on the arcade screen, "Holy hell! That scared the piss out of me!"

"Wow, your vocabulary, man," Nico joked, "Thought our leader was more morally conscious than that."

Kibou chuckled, "What, Satoshi? When he's alone with me, he curses like a sailor. He's got his quirks, too."

Satoshi patted her on the head, "No idea what you mean, I'm a perfect gentleman! I've never cursed at someone before."

I asked, "But inanimate objects?"

Satoshi grunted, "Maybe once or twice or- for fuck's sake, I hurt myself on that headboard every damn time! Why is it always me!?"

Nico shook his head, "Well, that's a twist." He checked his watch, "Oh, it's getting late. We'll have a meeting soon. I'll head out early."

As Nico trudged off, Satoshi spoke in a hushed tone, "He's doing my job spectacularly. He knows what his limits are, and his coordination is top notch. Maybe he is best for the job of leading us..." Satoshi trailed off, as if defeated.

Kibou hugged him and refuted his claims, "You help him out a lot, Satoshi. Your talent for helping others is unique, like you. Don't feel like less- you're my beloved, okay? I hate to see you down."

I added, "Seriously, Satoshi. You mean the world to some of us," I thought about what to say next, "I can't instill confidence in you, but I do wish you would see the worth in yourself. The same thing Kibou and I and Daisuke and Akihiko see."

Satoshi's expression changed, and he smiled, ever so slightly, "Thanks, you two. I should know better by now, but even then..." He sighed, "Let's head to the group meeting."

Watching the two of them head off, I signed the three of us out, surprised that Satoshi had forgotten. I felt someone approach me from behind.

Turning, I was surprised to be greeted by Akihiko, "Hey, Shinji. I was wondering... Well, Nari told me she caught you two in Emiko's room. I mean, I'm not accusing you of anything, but... Did you find anything in there?"

"I left early," I shrugged, "It felt wrong to look through her things, so I left. Kenji stayed behind, so you'd have to ask him."

Akihiko slowly nodded, as if he hadn't heard me clearly, "Oh. Kay."

Absentmindedly, the two of us walked back to the cafeteria/courtyard. Everyone else was there except for Takumi, who was strangely missing.

We discussed the usual, but none of us had really come up with anything useful. Everything was basically the same as yesterday.

At least, everything was uneventful until Takumi walked up to the rest of us, "Back! Sorry I'm late; I got distracted."

Nico walked over, "It's fine, so long as you fed her. Give me the keys."

Mayu explained to me in a whisper, "Takumi was on prisoner duty this evening."

Takumi reached into his back pocket, "Sure, just a sec... Wait, what?" He pulled all of his pockets out, "Where the hell-?"

"Holy shit... Did you really lose the utility keys!?" Satoshi was surprisingly annoyed by this, "Can't you do one thing we ask of you right!?" Satoshi ran off, leaving us in an awkward silence.

Takumi frowned before running off after him, presumably to try and retrace his steps.

Shizue stood up, a fierce expression on her face, "What if she-"

"Why would she take the keys?" I countered, "We let her out whenever as it is."

To answer our concerns, Satoshi rushed back from Yoshikazu's cottage, "She's gone and the door's unlocked! She took the damn keys!"

"Takumi, you had one job!" Nico shouted, "Alright, we need to search. Get into groups of two or three and investigate each area thoroughly."

Shizue surprisingly took action quickly, "Granberia, Nari, with me. We're checking the second area!" Granberia and Nari looked to each other and nodded, the three setting off.

Wait a minute... "Shit! Shinju, Koneko, Mayu! I think they plan to hunt her down!"

"What!?" Koneko exclaimed, reacting the fastest.

Mayu concurred, "They do have the least qualms of putting Fuuko down. If they investigate the warehouse, they could even..."

Shinju's eyes went wide, and she ran off, presumably to talk them out of it. I grabbed Koneko's hand, "Mayu, Koneko, let's go! The forest is what I suspect."

The duo nodded, and everyone split up in groups to search. I was worried more for Fuuko's safety than ours, and for good reason. Some of us could still harbor strong hatred towards her, like Nari or Daisuke...

Once we finally reached the forest entrance, I noticed signs of someone being here, footprints in the slightly muddied path, "Koneko, west. Mayu, east. I'll take straight and we'll meet on the other side."

As they both surged off at much faster paces than I could, I walked down the central path. It was the shortest, and even by killing myself running I'd never beat them to the other side. I had tried. Multiple times.

Apparently, someone else knew of my inability to outpace them, because I turned a corner and crashed into Shinju, sending us both sprawling, "Oh, shit! Shinju, are you-" I stopped what I was saying when someone grabbed me from behind.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" Fuuko had me in a headlock and quickly reached into my back pocket, sliding my blade out and flipping it out, "Or else..." She held the blade close to my neck, letting the cold metal touch my skin.

Shinju quickly jumped to her feet and tried to get closer, inciting Fuuko to bring the blade even closer, "Fuuko, stop! I told you to forget it!"

Fuuko practically growled back at her, "No! How could I forget!? This bastard humiliated you! Shamed you! Hurt you!"

"Can I please get some context before you go around stabbing m-" Fuuko slammed her foot down into my stomach, causing me to cough violently, "Why!?"

At least Shinju was being reasonable, since she answered, "You... don't remember, but we went to middle school together. West Amazaki Middle."

That brought some memories back. Ugh, that place. My parents had decided to take me out of my childhood elementary school in the hopes of finding a better place for me to "make friends". Rather, they hoped I'd stop embarrassing them in social situations, so they sent me elsewhere to try and "keep it together".

Graduation was awful, since I only ever had one friend. I remember them, but never their name. She was kind to me, and on the last day, she had... confessed to me, in front of our entire class. I was bullied, and she had always fought for my honor. And I...

Shinju noticed I was lost in my own world, and added, "We were friends, remember? But after graduation, we never spoke again. I always tried to... To get back to you, but... I was too afraid to. I couldn't..."

Fuuko kneed me in the back, having moved the knife so I wouldn't splatter the ground, at least, "You bastard...! Taking my sister's happiness and soiling it! Hearing her cry every night because she couldn't win your heart... She even started her fuckin' poetry career because of you..."

"So you have to kill me!?" She shoved my face into the ground, slamming it against a branch that had fallen. My face was bruised and my cheek was cut and bleeding, but that didn't shut me up, "Why do you... care? I didn't think things through back then!"

Shinju sighed, "Like you do now?"

I couldn't believe the petty nature of that biting remark, "You could help me too, you know!"

Shinju slowly but methodically stepped forward, "Fuuko, come on. It was long since past. Bygones be bygones and all that..."

"No! You don't understand! I can't even begin to make you understand!" Fuuko sounded much more broken this time, "...You joined that fuckin' group because of him!"

...Oh, shit.

I had flashbacks to when I accepted being in the Academy. For old time's sake, I had gotten a book of poems. The last one, Shinju's most famous, was about unrequited love. I had glossed over that. Why? I guess it brought back bad memories, ones I intended to repress.

Part of that related to her, too. I had turned her down, and watched her run away, crying. I felt like a total cunt. Of course I would. Why would I say yes? I... I had no self worth, and I wanted her to do better.

Thinking over our time here, it clicked. Why she always hit me and took offense to me liking others... I had rejected her, and then I went and trounced all over those feelings again. And what's worse, I had forgotten what I'd even done.

Normally, this would be where I comment on how cliche the repressed memory thing is, but considering how much this happens in real life, I decided to let it slip. I had prior concerns to deal with.

Shinju's angry response gripped me back into reality, "What does that mean!?"

"You're the accomplice!" Fuuko yelled this, "I tried to prod into that when we talked, but you never understood it! Not once! That's why I want him dead! He sent you spiraling into despair!"

Shinju's face darkened, as if this was all a sick joke on her, "You c-can't really mean that I..."

Fuuko was crying now, considering my head was becoming wet from something dripping off of her, "I do, dammit! Why do you think I ran simulation games!? I wanted to make him feel your pain, the worst pain imaginable! I wanted him to suffer!"

She raised my head, regaining the earlier position, knife pointed at my neck, "Fuuko... I..."

"No, you shut up! Stop trying to persuade me! Stop being kind! I want you dead!" She wasn't listening now, and just continued ranting, "It's all your fault!"

Shinju yelled at her sister in a way I had never seen, "Stop it! I'll never forgive you if you do!"

Fuuko eased up upon hearing that, "But, Shinju-"

"Why would you kill him now!? When he finally reciprocates my feelings!? When I can make things right!?" Shinju had never been so unhinged before, "Are you still upset!? That I put him first!?" She clenched her hands until it looked painful, "Stop this fucking nonsense right now!"

Hopefully, Mayu and Koneko heard that yell, or I might be in a time of dying, "Fuuko... I don't know if you're being honest with me, but if so... I'm sorry."

Fuuko slapped me to the ground before flipping me over and raising the blade above me, "I said quiet!"

"I mean it!" I tried to convince her, "I never wanted to hurt her! I love her!"

She slapped me again with her free hand, "Stop lying! Shinju murdered people 'cause of you! Our parents are dead because of you!"

Shinju stopped moving when that slipped out, falling to her knees in shock, "W...what did you just say?"

"You killed them! You butchered them right in front of me! Laughing... all the while!" Fuuko definitely was holding on to what little sanity she had left with all of her might, "Junko... twisted you, and they paid for it... Because of him, I lost all of you! And when I finally found you, you had been locked up in a machine. You..."

My actions... Had caused that? I looked over to Shinju, who was clutching her head and screaming. I couldn't hear it anymore, since I was in too much shock. She turned to despair because of what I did to her? She was the accomplice?

They say every action, every choice you make affects the world around you. In reference to the past, it's called the Butterfly Effect. Most people make choices easily, when they're small. Bigger choices take time and weighing the options, and usually cost somebody something, whether it be time, money, their life, or any other number of things.

Destroying another person's life, though? Sending them to the depths of despair and making them ripe for brainwashing? Only to find they had butchered their family due to something... that I started?

I held out my hand, weakly, and grabbed Fuuko's arm, the one with my blade, "If you really want to kill me... I can't fight you..." She looked at me, confused, "If what you say is...true... Then I think it might really be justice."

My hand fell to my side as I let go of my fear of dying. Even if Fuuko raised that blade, even if she quickly brought it down, aiming for my face, which she did, I couldn't find it within myself to resist.

My only action as Fuuko raised the same knife I once had intended to end my own life with, I thought of the cruel irony of it all. As Shinju screamed hysterically for her sister to stop... Before I felt that familiar warmth and stickiness of blood on my body...

The last thing I saw was Shinju rushing forward, presumably to stop Fuuko.

 **Shizue's POV**

Inside the warehouse, I frantically searched around, "Nari, Granberia, anything!?"

Nari cursed aloud, "Fuck! She's not here!"

Granberia tugged at my clothes, "Can you cosplay as someone to find her? If you don't, Shinji might..."

I nodded, a smile on my face, "Sure thing, Granberry," As I rummaged through some outfits and discovered some police uniforms, I prepared to undress myself, "I never really liked my talent, you know? But now, I feel it's worth something."

Nari walked over, cursing again under her breath, "Letting her live was stupid! The second you trust someone like her..."

I sloppily dressed myself in the police uniform as the person I meant to become stayed strong in my mind. If I could become her... Must... Become... One...

Crack! A loud sound hit my ears. A branch breaking in the forest. Screaming. Shouting. Target locked.

Pushing my blonde bangs out of my face, I noticed the mirror. I couldn't see myself in it, but at the very least I had filled out my uniform nicely. This police girl was on the case!

Nari yelled, "Well, you changed? Go ahead, we'll follow!"

"The forest," I said with a stern voice before looking down at my hands, the nails turned into sharp claws. These would do well.

Bursting forth at an awesome speed, I rammed through the doors to the warehouse, knocking one off of its hinges. Opting to jump over the side of the fence, I skipped the entire staircase.

I had tried to cheat up the mountain, but some kind of field prevented me from going up that way. I could cheat the path down with ease, though.

Cave. Forest. The trail. I listened, and I heard noise coming distinctly from the central trail. I ran in, feet crushing entire branches as I stomped hard in a blood rage. Just as I found my target, I caught a new smell, fresh as the source it came from... Blood.

"Gaaaaaah!" Shinji screamed, an animalistic scream I'd never heard from him before. Even worse than when Monotaro severed his limbs. Then I saw the entire scene.

Fuuko was on the ground, unconscious. She was bleeding, and had a large bruise on her right temple. Shinju must have done it...

As for her, she was crying and trying to help Shinji. Even in this form, I retched. The hilt of his knife was cleanly peeking out from his right eye, and the right side of his face was coated in blood.

He was shaking, and I worried he might have gone into shock. Rushing forward, I pushed Shinju out of the way and checked his vitals. His left eye followed me, and I swore he smiled, through the aching agony he had to be enduring. His eye closed, and I assumed he had fallen unconscious from the pain.

A noise arose from the brush, and Mayu and Koneko burst forth, "Shinji, are you..." Koneko saw him in his current condition and fainted.

Mayu nearly puked herself, before looking to me, "Shizue? I need your help. Medical supplies from the supermarket, stat!"

More noise followed, and the others walked in. Nico ran ahead of the others, "Nari told us where to go. Is everything alright?" He looked over to Shinji and fell back to the ground, "Aaaaaah!"

I discounted their presence for now, "Mayu, let's move," I picked up the unconscious Shinji and fled off with him in the hopes of saving his life. His pulse wasn't very strong, though, and he'd lost a lot of blood in a short amount of time.

 **Monokuma Theater 7#**

The scene cut to that same old stage where Monokuma always greeted us. He sat in the center, and remained quiet. His kooky music played in the background for a while before he finally tilted his head at an angle, "It's so quiet. What, did someone die in here?"

No one laughed, and none of the Monokumas made a noise, "Well, this party's dead. I'd tell a killer joke, but that's beating a dead horse at this moment. Eh? Eh?" Still no one acknowledged him, "Ah, silent treatment, huh!? I can play that game, too!"

 **Shinji's POV**

Crash! Thump! Ow, my head! Without my right eye, my depth perception was all off, and I smashed my head against a cabinet in the bathroom. Reaching into the medicine cabinet to take my meds, I stared back at my gaunt expression.

Eyepatches weren't as cool as they seemed in the movies. It was itchy and uncomfortable. I was just getting adjusted to it, according to Mayu.

I sat back on the toilet and sighed for a moment. Fuuko had been reconfined in her cell, and Shizue would deal with her exclusively. Or Seras, in this case. Fuuko had woken up from Shinju's attack, but had not spoken a word since.

In a similar vein, Shinju had locked herself up in her room and refused to let us in. She must have blamed herself for what had happened, but even I couldn't get her to budge.

Should I tell everyone... What Fuuko had told us? That Shinju was the accomplice? Or would Monokuma just do it himself, soon enough?

Nico's encouragement this morning reminded me of our upcoming talent show. We were all expected to perform, though I was given the OK to sit out, due to my injuries. My knife was in one of my dresser drawers, cleaned and out of sight.

I felt disoriented and depressed after what had happened. The others had tried to be supportive for me, but in the end I really was feeling the despair.

I slept for a long time. Even with pain medications, the ache never fully went away. Sometimes I woke up in a cold sweat, my hands clawing into my sheets due to the pain that occasionally surged through my body.

Beep, beep, beep, beep! The annoying alarm clock went off, rousing me from my slumber. I struggled to my feet, a bit woozy from the incoherent nightmares. It was five, and the talent competition thing was ready to begin.

Time to go to work.

I examined the schedule left out by Mayu, the one for us to always have a buddy. I'd meet Koneko at 5:15. 15 minutes? Perfect. I rummaged through the bottom drawer, searching for my key item. Finding it, I flipped the blade out and watched it gleam.

Hmph.

I slipped out of my room quietly and unseen. Sly and cautious, I shadowed the area behind our cottages before sneaking into the back of Yoshikazu's cottage. Unbeknownst to the others, I had gotten copies of them all before the first trial, hehe. I climbed up the side of the cottage with the aid of a trusty and sturdy tree, opening the skylight and surveying the well-lit room.

I dropped in, blade in my mouth as I scared Fuuko, who screamed when she saw me and fell backwards off of her bed, "Y-you!"

I slid the blade out of my mouth and held it as hard as I could, "No need to run."

Sh still backed up away from me, a look of pure terror in her expression, as I walked towards her, crouching down to meet her at eye level, "No, please!"

I carefully held out my hand and reached for hers. Fuuko gave no resistance, afraid for her own safety, and never anticipated what I was doing. As I let go of her hand, she gazed down at the knife left there.

"W-wha...?" No, of course she didn't understand. Why would she?

Peering into her soul, I asked, "Do you still want to kill me? Now is your last chance." Her mouth was slightly agape, but she stayed motionless, "Just stab my throat and end it. Avenge your parents, save your sister, all that good stuff."

She spat at me, "Don't mock me! I-I-" she stammered when I glared at her with all of the malice I had inside me, "... I give up, okay? I... I'll behave."

I slowly reached out, and she passed me the knife back without incident, "...I forgive you."

She couldn't believe what she just heard, and so she just gawked.

"You heard me right," I reassured her, "I'll come by every now and again to make sure you're taken care of. If you need someone to confide in," I thought about it for a moment, "I'm sure you'd prefer Shinju, and that's fine. But I'll be there for you if you want me to."

Without another word, I stood up and exited the room, unlocking the cage with my spare, locking it again, and wiping the sweat off of my brow before trudging off.

On my walk, Koneko walked to my side, "Shizue'd kill you if she found out."

I laughed at the truth in that, "I'm aware. I know what my choices cost me." I felt the sharp pain that came and went, and stumbled a bit, "I'm reminded every day."

Koneko walked next to me, and she interlocked her fingers with mine, "You really are something else, you know. An overgrown fool, you are."

I sighed, wondering if I should confess. If I didn't, I'm certain it might come up less positively later on. Koneko clung to me with that kind smile of hers, and I just couldn't bring myself to ruin it. It would be okay for one more day.

We arrived at the stage in the second area, and I waved to Nico. Daisuke and Akihiko guarded either side of the area, and Akihiko greeted us, "Koneko, Shinji. I'm obligated to search you now."

I sighed and reached into my pocket, handing over my knife, "You can inspect me now..."

Akihiko stayed silent as he put it with the other confiscated goods and patted us both down, "Clear."

The two of us sat in our designated seats, and Nico came over, "Shinji, Koneko, right on time. Aki signed you both in for 5:15. Just as expected."

"He was trying to be lazy, but I got him out of bed," Koneko joked, prodding me with her tail.

Returning her gesture with a mischievous grin, I replied, "I just can't seem to please this pussy-" she growled at me, "cat. So dramatic."

She folded her arms and stuck her tongue out to me, to which I booped her nose gently, "Hey!"

Nico just rolled his eyes, "Alright, lovebirds. Hands where I can see them."

Within a few minutes, everyone showed up, and the talent show began. Up first was Takeshi, who loudly groaned as he took center stage.

"Up first is Takeshi, whose talent is... Unknown," Nico laughed nervously when Takeshi glared daggers at him, "What's your act?"

Takeshi shrugged, "Being me. You know why? It's hard to be yourself and exist in this world without being judged." He was...giving a speech?

"Damn right, I'm edgy. I shove people away, I'm antagonistic. And I'm me." He sighed, "I don't censor myself. I accept myself. And that itself is a talent, is it not?" For once, he did make some sense, "At least compared to you losers," And there's the asshole we know.

Takeshi stepped down and sat back in his chair, looking accomplished. Next up was Takumi.

Takumi sported a bow and arrow, "Sup, guys? Look what Mayu went and tried to teach me!" He chuckled to himself as he aimed towards a target up by the cliff, "I'mma hit it."

Akihiko walked onto the stage, "What did I say about deadly talents? Give me the bow," he sternly commanded.

Takumi sighed, and pulled back the string. He nocked an arrow, and before Akihiko could interject, let it fly. Thunk! It pierced the bullseye with astounding accuracy, and even knocked the target back a bit, nearly plunging over the edge.

With a confident smirk, Takumi handed the bow and arrow pack to Akihiko, "Now you can have it."

"I'm actually impressed," Aki admitted, "Didn't think you had it in you."

With a smirk, Takumi lumbered off of the stage, "Have faith, bro. Only limits we have are set by ourselves."

Damn, but that was deep. Why was Takumi a running gag again?

Next up was Satoshi, who awkwardly stood at the edge of the stage, microphone in hand, "I uh, have decided to try and sing. I haven't done it since late night karaoke back in Tokyo, but... I'll do my best." He bowed before us before singing.

I gave Kibou a confused look, and she answered, "He had a part time job working at a club, and they made him get on stage a few times."

Adjusting his collar as he raises the microphone to his mouth, he began belting out with his less formal voice, matching the melodic tone of the chorus, "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, so you're gonna have to!"

Even during the rest of the song, he moved with the motions,following the song's rhythm as he switched between singing styles. I don't know what surprised us more; his love of western music, his dark tone, or the choice of song he did make.

Regardless, we couldn't help but clap at the end, partly out of respect, and partly in awe.

Hanako had once been a somewhat nervous wreck, but she walked on stage with a nice blue blouse and matching skirt and hat. Kenji and Akihiko struggled to lift a pool table onto the stage, where Hanako passed them both pool cues and prepared the table.

Kenji went first, breaking the formation of the balls but unable to make a single one he needed to sink into one of the pockets. Hanako gave a confident smirk as she pulled back her pool cue and analyzed the board. With a single stroke, every single striped ball flew into pockets as the ball she hit collided with them before finding its own way into the center pocket itself.

Trying her best not to make fun of Kenji's face, she then sunk the 8 ball into a pocket, winning the game in an astounding two moves, "And that is why everyone should take math more seriously."

While Akihiko and Daisuke removed the table in the background, Kenji removed from his back pocket a single deck of cards, "This one I perfected through many accidents. Who would like to play?"

Kibou raised her hand, but before Kenji could choose her, she excitedly jumped on stage, "I'd love to!" She looked over the deck before pulling a single card out, a Queen of Spades. She put it back in the deck, and Kenji showed us the entire deck so we could confirm it wasn't a trick deck of some sort and just a standard one.

She showed us before putting it back in, and Kenji looked away as he shuffled them on top of a small table placed on the stage, "This is going to be interesting," Kenji commented before the cards in his hand burst into flames. The bright light changed colors all across the spectrum before fading as fast as it had started.

A lone card fell from his hand, along with a pile of ashes scattering down. The lone card untouched by the fire was the Queen of Spades.

"How did you do that!?" Kibou demanded to know the secret, but Kenji just shrugged.

"In school, I always burned their decks," he said, reminiscing, "Eventually, I found a way to not burn one of them, and turned it into a magic trick. The best part?" He rolled up his sleeve and the other 51 cards fell to the floor, every single one accounted for.

"How the hell?" Takeshi was paying attention, apparently, and even he was surprised.

Kenji picked up his cards and found his way off the stage, sitting next to Hanako with a confident grin, "I'm so glad I didn't light myself on fire that time."

How much practicing did he need to do?

Koneko was the next person to face our endless judgment, and I was quite curious what she was going to do. Koneko handed her tail a pencil, "It took a long while to get this to work so... Appreciate this while you can."

Placing a piece of drawing paper on a stand that usually holds canvas, she began drawing with her tail. Known for her dexterity, this was still far beyond what we thought capable, but with an all-knowing smile and one eye closed, she meticulously set to work.

"Recoloring this is easier with lines to follow, but starting this without something to base it off of will be a bit more difficult," Koneko spoke as she flicked her tail left to right like a well-oiled machine, trying to perfect her work. None of us could truly tell what she was drawing, but she wasn't done yet.

She looked at us as she drew a part of it, letting her tail guide itself from memory. I wondered why, but it was impressive nonetheless.

We sat in protracted silence for maybe 15 minutes before she stepped away. With some impressive detail, she had drawn all of us together, as if we were taking a photo together. Yoshikazu and Emiko were there, too, and the very image tug at our heart strings.

"I guess we never took a group photo, so I've been practicing to draw one for us. So we'll never forget who we lost," Koneko wiped a tear from her eye, "I did it with my tail, because whenever I looked at it, I started crying and messed it up."

Next was a confident and serious-looking Nari, a white cloak covering her body, as she walked up with that strong confidence she always used to act like she had. Now, though, it was truthfully hers, and she demonstrated that quite confidently, "Hit the music, Nico."

A song came on that I recognized, but couldn't quite place. Nari winked at us as she tore off the coat and revealed herself to be wearing a very familiar outfit; that is, the ones worn by Sayaka Maizono's girl group.

She began dancing in tune with the music, keeping that smile plastered on, and with a wearable microphone coming off of her headphones, she even began to sing along when the lyrics came up. Why did it... Oh, no... No, no, no...

This was the opening theme to the School Days anime!? What the hell!? As the realization passed over me and made me shiver, Nari looked right at me and winked. Oh god.

Nari finished her performance giving us, the audience, two fingers up on either side in a traditional idol pose. Damn, but she could have been one.

As Nari curtsied before descending the side stairs, she asked me, "Do I make a good idol?"

"Considering I already see you that way, yeah," I awkwardly replied, trying not to blush.

Nari reddened a little, but she brushed me off, "More sweet talk, ech. I worked hard on that performance, you know. A little praise goes a long wa-"

I cut her off as I softly brushed her hair with my left hand as I nodded my head, "You were fantastic, Nari. Powerfully coordinated and performed."

Koneko joined in, "Yeah, it was awesome! I feel a bit overshadowed now."

Nari bent over to meet Koneko's eyes, seeing as she was the tallest of the girls excluding Mayu, "Your art was wonderful, too. All of us are thankful to have you around." Nari scratched just under her chin, causing Koneko to purr loudly, much to her embarrassment.

"N-Nari, stop!" She tried to push Nari's hand away to no avail.

Nari was acting a little sadistic now, as she softly cooed, "I like to make you shudder like this, silly," Koneko couldn't contain herself, giving in to Nari's gentle ministrations, "My darling little neko..."

Shizue ignored Nari's neko teasing as she got up on the stage, back to her normal self, to my joy. I cheered her on to do her best, not knowing exactly what she was going to do, but wanting her to succeed all the while.

Shizue sighed, "It's hard for me to think of something outside my ultimate skill. I always feel like I'm someone else, but I have found something I like to do..." She then grabbed a skateboard from off stage and with a kick flip sailed over the audience.

Before we could say a word, she gathered speed and grinded on the railing overlooking the rest of the resort before leaping off and catching her board as she fell to the ground, landing on her feet with poise and grace.

"That shit was tight, yo!" Takumi randomly blurted out.

Satoshi laughed, "Indeed, it was. I had no idea you had a knack for that."

Shizue shrugged, adjusting her bangs behind her ear, "Practice goes a long way, you know." She flashed a smile at me, which I reciprocated.

Granberia had already gotten onto the stage, with a deadpan look directed towards the entire audience, "Like all of us, I think it's hard to move outside your comfort zone to try and discover new talents. So I didn't." With her assistant Nico, he wrapped her up in chains and locks and then proceeded to stuff her into a large wooden coffin and close it.

"She should have air for like five minutes, Nico explained, "If in that time, she doesn't manage to free hersel-"

Granberia tapped him on the shoulder, "Done."

Nico let out a shrill scream as he fell forward, landing on his forehead with a painful thud.

Granberia just blinked, once, twice, before looking up at the rest of us, "Ta-da!"

Shinju went up next, and she motioned for me to join her. With great concern, I did so. Standing by her side, I struggled to find words before she addressed the audience, "I'm here to demonstrate my talent... For fucking things up."

Takeshi rolled his eyes, "Big surprise."

Nari smacked him, "Shut up, dickwad! Shinju, what are you talking about?"

Shinju rubbed her feet against each other, uneasy and even frightened, "Last night... Fuuko attacked Shinji, as you all know. And before she hurt him, she said why. I could hide this, but knowing it, I have to explain."

I tugged at my shirt collar, "Oh boy..."

"Fuuko told me that when she and the others got here, that I... I am very likely the accomplice to the member of despair," Shinju finally got the words out, to everyone's surprise. "I didn't want to believe it, but she told me I even went so far as to... To kill my parents. And that I was betrayed by the real Despair member... I'm half of why we're stuck in this game, and I..." She had broken into tears by now, struggling to continue her speech, "I..."

I tried to touch her, but she shoved me away, "Shinju! This is... Enough, alright? You can't beat yourself up over it!"

Takeshi stood up, "Easy for you to say, ponce. This bitch is a fuckin' killer! She just admitted to it!"

"I heard the damn thing too," I yelled back, feeling pain from my right eye, "But she's not the Ultimate Despair remnant! So it doesn't matter!"

"Then who's the Despair member!?" Nari asked, a sinister tone to her voice, "If she could remember, and tell us, then we could-"

I cut her off, "Then she would have told us! Fuuko's the one who remembered, not her!"

Nico stepped up, "Enough! This is a talent show, not a fighting stage. Shinju, thank you for telling us. We'll discuss this as a group later."

"Fuck no, I'm not staying here," Takeshi stood up and left, "Not with her."

He left unopposed, and the rest of us fell quiet.

Nico cursed under his breath, "Alright, fine, fine. We'll pick this up later. For now, let's just all go to bed and clear our heads."

"But Nico-" He shut me up with a single look, and I nodded, "Yes, sir."

With that, most of us all went to bed as ordered.

 **Monokuma Theater 8#**

Monokuma showed up on stage, but he refused to talk to us, not saying a word. The entire theater was just lines of ellipses, as he didn't say a word.

"Is the silent treatment working yet? Oh, shit!" Monokuma realized he talked to us, defeating the purpose, "I'll get you back next time!"

The next morning...

 **Shizue's POV**

The morning announcement had yet to come, but I woke up extra groggy. I shouldn't have drank so much milk before bed. I noticed it was only 6:45, so I decided to take a walk.

As I stepped outside wearing my black leather jacket, I wondered how everyone else was doing. I slowly made my way towards the second area, as I was curious whether or not the stage was still ready for the rest of us to perform our own talents.

I felt bad for Shinju, I really did, and I knew Takeshi was likely to try and witch hunt her that morning at the meeting. That being said, I was prepared; I had my police uniform at the ready if I needed to protect someone or arrest anyone too unruly to talk peacefully.

Before I came here, my power was a burden but now it was the greatest gift I could ask for.

Shinji was standing by the lounge, and I greeted him, "Shinji, it's quite early, isn't it? What are you doing up?"

Shinji dropped his sandwich in surprise and dramatically fell to his knees, "My sandwich... It was innocent!"

"Oh, Shinji, I'm so-" I tried to apologize.

He held up a hand for me to let him speak, "Quiet now, for I must grieve."

I rolled my eyes at his performance and pulled him up off of the floor, "Come on, seriously? Are you going to be alright if I leave you?"

Shinji laughed, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just went for a pleasurable walk in the morning."

"Where to?" I asked, curious.

Shinji didn't answer immediately, taking a couple of steps away, "The forest, yeah. Anyways, I'm going to bed. I was up too late last night."

I grinned as he walked away, "You stayed up all night, didn't you?"

"I can do what I want, mom," he replied in that joking tone of his, "See you at the meeting, Shizue."

After bidding him farewell, I continued walking towards the second area. It was lonely, save for the occasional bird chirp, and the sound of something scraping against rock. What was that? I looked around, but didn't find anything.

When I started making my way up, I noticed something hanging off of the cliffside. Hanging... Off... the cliffside.

Oh, shit...

At full speed, I ran up and around the side. I ignored everything as I charged ahead and around the bend before making my way to the top side of the cliff. Taking a couple of steps forward, I saw the courtyard down below.

A step further, and I saw what was hanging.

Dressed in the same clothes he had worn last night, Takeshi was slowly swinging back and forth rhythmically in the wind. His neck was constricted by an electric cord of some sort, yellow and slightly muddy, as if dragged through it and then hastily cleaned.

I reached forward to grab the cord and pull him up off the side, but the second I pulled the cord, a metal clang rang out, and a bear trap bit through the cord, sending the body plummeting to the ground.

Today was not going to be our day.

I rushed back down as fast as my body would allow me, my breath ragged as panicked thoughts ran through my mind, one after the other.

I slowly walked towards the fallen body, but decided to investigate after I got the others. That was when I looked up and saw Kenji walking this way with his hand clasped in Hanako's. The two were talking excitedly.

I slowly walked over to them as calmly as possible, "Kenji, please... Come here!"

Kenji looked up to me, "What is it, Shizue?" He quickly let go of Hanako's hand, but she clung to him, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Kenji... Please," I pleaded to him with my tear-filled eyes, and he reluctantly agreed, telling Hanako to stay behind for a moment.

We walked towards the courtyard, and when he saw it, he ran towards it in a blind panic, "What the fuck!?" He quickly checked Takeshi for a pulse, but there was none to be had.

*Ding dong, ding dong*

Hanako yelled in our direction, but it was cut off by the alarm..

Monokuma appeared on the screens all across the resort, "A body has been discovered! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"

This was when I made a mental note; Kenji was the third person to see the body. Beyond that, as I stared down at his limp corpse, a pathetic, surprised expression left on his face, I couldn't think very well.

Kenji ran off to get the others, and I... I must have fainted, because I don't remember much of what happened next.


	25. Dying for Aesthetics, Deadly Life

**Chapter Two-Dying for Aesthetics, Deadly Life**

 **-Shizue's POV-**

Soft. I felt something soft and plump against the back of my neck. I opened my eyes to see Mayu smiling down at me, "Oh, you're awake! Thank goodness!" We were seated on the floor of the cafe lounge, which I was thankful for. The tile floor was quite comfortable compared to the uneven, rocky ground outside.

I wiped my eyes for a bit before trying to sit up. Mayu had been sitting cross-legged with my head in her lap, brushing my hair, waiting for me to awaken. I sat up, my legs quivering, "Wh-what happened? Was I dreaming?"

"Afraid not," Akihiko answered me, a grim look on his face as he knelt down to look me in my eyes, "Takeshi's actually dead. I investigated up above, and confirmed something. That cord he was hung with was plugged in. You were the one who tried to pull him up, yes?"

I nodded, "I was headed up the walkway at around... 7:15? I saw him hanging and panicked. I sprinted up to try and save him, but the cord snapped..."

"When that happened," Akihiko gently explained, "The cord must have shocked you pretty badly. Maybe you didn't notice, what with the adrenaline pumping in your veins. It's understandable. You passed out about fifteen minutes ago."

Mayu furthered the conversation, "Aki and I carried you to the lounge, to rest. Granberia and Koneko volunteered to watch the body this time."

Akihiko grimaced, "Again... Dammit!" He clenched his fist until it looked painful, "Why can't we resist this temptation? Why do we end up killing our friends!?"

I finally got to my feet and responded, "I'm sorry, Akihiko. I know it hurts you to see this..."

Akihiko muttered to himself, "I hate this feeling of powerlessness."

"Akihiko," Mayu spoke up, taking a more motherly approach, "I understand. You're confused. Scared. Feeling betrayed. This is normal. Just know you have my support. I will do anything to see the killer to justice; this I promise you."

Aki just shook his head, "An empty promise; it means nothing."

Mayu stepped back before folding her arms, "Takeshi was a nuisance, but murder...? I wonder if the killer is regretful right now. Did they do it out of resentment or something more sinister...?"

"What does it matter!? Whoever did it is a filthy murderer!" Aki was unexpectedly abrasive, probably still dredging up hurt feelings over Emiko's death, "Whatever reasons they have, it's selfish bullshit!"

"That I can agree on," Mayu smiled a bit, "However, holding grudges will do you no good. The people they _used_ to be deserve better."

Akihiko shrugged it off, "Shizue, I'm glad you're alright. Whoever set that trap up intended to kill you. I guarantee that when I find the culprit, they'll never see the light of day again."

I didn't know what to say to that. Someone had legitimately tried to kill me, though not me, personally. I had been worried after the last trial, and this only made my anxiety grow. This is what my sister wanted to happen, right? For me to die rather than come back a disgrace?

Akihiko took my silence as a cue for him to leave, "Don't forget to check your handbook. Second Monokuma file came in. We all need to do our best."

"Yeah..." I trailed off.

I was feeling sick to my stomach, the painful thoughts pouring from the darkness inside me. After what had happened with Shinji, what with my suicide attempt, I had begun taking medications. Emiko had closely monitored me to ensure I had no allergic or negative reactions, and they had made me feel better. But this wasn't just depression or anxiety; it was despair.

Like a darkness coating my skin, seeking to weigh me down, to destroy my motivations, my hopes, my reason for being. Everything became slow, monotonous, torturous. This concerned me, the darkness in my heart.

Mayu noticed my discomfort, and quickly intervened, "We must have hope for the future, Shizue."

I couldn't control myself anymore, and I thrust myself into her chest, crying, "Mayu... Why!? Why do we have to go through this!? I just want to go home!" Sobbing into her, I slowly fell to my knees, unable to hold back.

Mayu held me close, running her hand through my hair, "Shizue, you're so... Gentle, so kind. I know it's a struggle just to get by in this sick game, but I want you to remember this one thing. No matter what, I believe in you. I love you, Shizue. Much like the little sister I never got to have."

"Mayu... You..." I could barely believe what she had just told me, and it was taking a while to sink in.

"No matter what happens, remember that," She patted me on the head and urged me to stand up, which I obliged her, "We have to solve this murder, understood? For our fallen comrades, and for our future."

I nodded, sniffling a bit, "Do you have any idea who it might be...?"

Mayu shook her head, "I have yet to investigate or read the file myself. Shinji has also neglected to show himself, so I've decided to check in on his cottage."

"Can I do it...? I saw him just this morning, at around 6:45. At the lounge, ironically." I admitted.

Mayu walked over to the sign-in sheet, "Ah, yes, says it right here. He also came in at 2:35 in the morning. Interesting..." Mayu opened up her handbook, "According to this, Takeshi's time of death was 3:05 A.M. Shinji might have seen something."

With new resolve, I nodded, "I'll go talk to him. What will you do?"

Mayu pondered that for a second, "Haven't decided yet. I'll do some recon where the crime took place. Make sure to mark down that sheet, though. Shinji might be a key witness."

Mayu walked out, and I opened my handbook to the newest Monokuma File.

The victim's body was discovered hanging over the courtyard stairway between the first and second area. His time of death is at approximately 3:05 AM. An extension cord was firmly wrapped around his neck as he hung thirty feet from the ground. The body has a neck wound indicating he had been cut, and there are bruises from the cord. However, there is no evidence he struggled after being hung.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Monokuma File 2# has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I looked over the sign-in sheet to the lounge. Shinji Kizami, entered at 2:35 AM and left at 2:45. That does place him close to the time of the murder. He also signed in again at 6:40, just before I met him at 6:45. It says he left at 7:00, which means he must have still been in here when I was getting Kenji and Hanako's attention. Why didn't he come then?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Sign-in Sheet has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

With what little evidence I had, I couldn't discern a motive. Would someone have really gone so far as to kill Takeshi over a personal grudge? I knew I had to talk to Shinji to glean some information, but I had a bad feeling. Almost as if I'd be better off not talking with him about it.

I shook off the anxiety starting to overtake me, and I breathed deeply as I headed towards Shinji's cottage.

I saw the door was firmly closed shut. I knocked once, twice, three times, and he opened the door, lighting up the second he saw me, "Shizue, how are you?"

"Shinji!" I perked up when I saw him too and jumped into his arms, holding him close. He kissed me on my forehead and gave me that trusty smile, "I had to come talk to you. I... I found the body. You heard the announcement, right?"

Shinji's smile instantly faded, and he looked away, "...I'm not getting involved this time."

His sudden attitude confused me, "Shinji, I need your help. The lounge sheet says you signed in this morning. Since the murder happened twenty minutes later, I thought that-"

"I didn't see anything. I don't even know who the victim is. I don't care who died, or how," Shinji was really acting out of line right now, "I don't care about him."

"Takeshi is dead, Shinji!" I yelled back at him, trying to force the conversation onto the topic at hand.

Shinji rolled his eye at me, "Not surprising. Bet he deserved it."

"What?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

Shinji scratched under his nose, "I don't feel like discussing this, alright? I'm not going on another witch hunt. Yoshikazu... He..."

I reached out and grabbed his hand, "Don't blame yourself. You saved all of us, Shinji!"

Shinji's expression lightened a little, but only for a moment, "At the cost of a friend," he was certainly not very honest about these feelings before, "I can't just brush that off like some of the others can."

A loud smack was the only noise in what felt like the longest moment ever spent between us.

Neither of us expected my reaction to be so quick, so full of anger. I slowly pulled my hand back and noticed the red mark on his cheek. Instead of apologizing, I vented, "You're not special!"

Shinji seemed taken aback, and he stepped away from me, "Shizue..."

Even with how hurt he looked, this had to be said, "Every one of us voted for him! Every one of us helped kill him, damnit! You don't get to put extra blame on yourself! What, so it fits your narrative?"

He remained silent, wincing a bit.

I shook my head, trying to get a grasp on myself. "'I'm not worth anything, I'll throw my life away because that's all I'm good for.' Shut the hell up!" My fists were clenched, and I was shaking. Rage, sadness, all of it swelled inside of me, "Enough of this self-pitying bullshit! Are you going to man up!? Or are you going to be the same loser Jun was going to dump!?"

Shinji cringed at that one, "I just-"

"What, sorry again? Sorry doesn't fix our issues!" I yelled over him, "If you actually loved me, loved the others, you'd treat yourself better! Not this pretentious self-deprecation! You're just a hypocrite! Telling me to live happy and not doing it yourself..." I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer to me. I noticed several cuts and bruises on his side, dried but not yet washed. I didn't think on that for now.

"Shizue!" Shinji didn't struggle, but he spoke my name with a mixture of fear and surprise.

I finally regained a hold of my senses and let him down. I stepped back, barely able to process what I had just done, what I'd just said. I looked up to him, and he just stood there, as if in a trance, "Shinji, I-"

Shinji leaned up against the opened door, struggling to stay upright, "Spunky, aren't you?" He laughed a bit, completely dismissing my outburst at first, "You're not... wrong. I know that I have expectations to live up to, from you guys and myself. I want to make you happy, and I can't do that as I am."

"As long as you try, that will be enough," I assured him, "That's all we can ask of you."

He didn't respond for a while, but eventually, he did, "There are some parts of me that I can't change," he ran a hand over his eye patch, "That's what I always used to think... But I hope that... With you all here, I can. I just need time."

I nodded, "Yeah, it's a start just to admit it, I think."

"Being easy on me, now? Sometimes tough love is necessary," Shinji smirked at me, a little wink to add to his mischievous grin.

"How'd you get those cuts?" I directly asked about his wounds, concerned for his well-being.

Shinji looked away a bit, "Oh, these on my stomach? ...I got them from Fuuko. Just didn't care for them like the rest." Smells like bullshit.

I decided not to press him on that. I'd ask Mayu; she was the one who gave him the medical attention, so she would know if he did or not, "Alright, if you're sure. So did you see anything this morning?"

Shinji scratched his head, "Not particularly. Woke up with insomnia, noticed I was alone, headed to get a drink and came back. I thought the buddy schedule was supposed to be followed at all times, but my buddy wasn't around."

"Who was it?" I asked, but his noncommittal shrug answered that, "I suppose I'll get the schedule from Mayu when I see her."

Shinji didn't look me in the eye for a moment, "If that's all, I'll just go back to bed for now."

I thought about it, "Shinji, when you beat Takeshi in Akihiko's tournament, you made him tell you his talent, yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment, "Yes, he told me. Ultimate Survivor. Apparently, he'd get caught up in tragedies and always ended up the only survivor. Hence why he pushed us away. Guess his talent was worthless here, eh?"

"Shinji, are you really making jokes about this right now?"

"I tried, you know?" he turned to me, a pained look on his face, "To get him to open up, to... End the cycle. My power could counter his, so I thought..." he just sighs in exasperation and resignation, "It was never enough."

Without anything else I could think of to ask him, I turned to leave, "Shinji, don't beat yourself up over it. I'll come back and talk to you if I need you again, Shinji."

Shinji patted me on the head and reassured me with a smile, "Go get 'em, tiger. I know you can solve this in my stead."

I could feel my cheeks burning as I nodded to him and hugged him, before waving goodbye and trudging off towards the second area.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Shinji's Wounds has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Shinji's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takeshi's Talent has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I had to talk to Mayu, check Takeshi's body to confirm the cause of death, investigate the cable to find out where it was plugged in, and check the area near the bear trap. Which should I do first?

After deliberating for a moment or two, I eventually decided to find Mayu first, since I assumed Shinji's wounds were the least important thing about this case, and could be dismissed casually.

Walking up to the second area, I noticed the cord running inside the storage warehouse. I casually walked inside and found it still plugged in, even now. The cords used were from the stage, the ones moves previously.

Whoever used this wire seemed to have done so last minute, as it wasn't even fully plugged in, and the cord was strewn about as if tossed inside with no thought given.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Stage Cord has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Making my way towards the stage, I observed the area. The cord ran underneath the stage; likely why Nico and Akihiko didn't move it along with the others. Why did they bother with this, though?

Then I noticed the blood stains near the stage next to the picnic table. They were subtle, but noticeable. The dried blood was in blotches but didn't trail, likely a stab wound. I thought back to Shinji's wounds.

Could he have fought with someone?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Bloodstains has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Akihiko walked up to me, "Glad you're here, want you to identify something with me," He said, motioning for me to follow him. He was standing in the bushes next to the sliced cord.

I slowly trudged over, and he pulled a knife with blood on it from the brush. The blade had a dragon on one side; it was Shinji's, no doubt about it. The dried blood on it was likely related to the blood stains by the arena.

"Akihiko, I found blood stains by the stage," I explained, "Not a steady drip, but blotches. Stabbing might be why."

Akihiko walked over to Takeshi's body, the cord no longer around his neck, "The only wound he's got is a cut neck. Doesn't bleed too much once the recipient dies. Severed an artery and killed him quick."

I rechecked my Monokuma File, "Doesn't say cause of death, so I think the neck wound is what did it. Monokuma loves misinforming us!"

Monokuma appeared, jumping in front of me, seemingly out of nowhere "I take offense to that! I don't _mis_ inform! I just inform not the whole truth!" He then disappeared from sight as fast as he had arrived.

Nico casually strolled up to us, readjusting his glasses. He was still surprisingly taller than me, only to those who didn't know him off camera. Even then, I was startled by his ability to look down at me from such a distance as seven inches or so. He smirked, "That pretty much confirms it. So Takeshi's neck was cut, and he was hanged later. The way it was done, the killer intended to hide the obvious wound with the cord, and Monokuma supported that with his file."

Akihiko just shook his head, "I took this from Shinji before the talent show. He forgot about it and left. This was in my pile of deadly instruments, I know it!" Aki walked over to the picnic table furthest from the stage, where other such implements were, "A Swiss Army Knife, some nail clippers, things like that. Potentially harmful."

"So somebody took it from here, obviously," I said to myself, "But who? Was it Takeshi...? Or did Shinji come back for it?"

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Shinji's Knife was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takeshi's Cause of Death was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

 **Updated Truth Bullet! Monokuma File 2# has been updated in the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

I still had to talk to Mayu and possibly confront Shinji on his actual whereabouts last night, but my brain finally started turning. Sometimes the people I cosplayed left... residual effects. From Yuno and Momiji, I had this intense feeling to protect him, but Naoto's deduction skills had begun to form the only possible suspect, and the outlook was grim.

Heading over to the bear trap, I picked it up and quickly discovered an interesting clue. Not only was the price label still on it, the receipt was crumpled up in between the tape and the actual bottom of the trap.

This, along with the state of the cord, clearly pointed to the killer rushing to set up the crime scene, and the incredibly sloppy performance was grating. This would be much easier to solve than the last one. But wasn't it a bit shoddy?

Who would kill someone knowing the rules and be so... blatant about it? Unless the killer was, for example, Takumi, it was too... amateurish. Did Shinji actually do it, or was this another framing?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Bear Trap was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Nico walked up behind me, scaring me, "Ah, I'm sorry!"

After realizing who it was, I managed to stop myself from screaming again, "Oh, Nico. Hey, want to help me find Mayu? I need her help."

"Sure thing, Shizue. We are BFF's," he chuckled, "'Sides, I trust you."

"Because you care about me or because you know I couldn't have done it?" I teased him a little.

Nico triumphantly smiled back, "I care, of course. The second doesn't hurt, though."

Rolling my eyes, the two of us eventually tracked Mayu down to the lounge, where she, Kenji, and Takumi were having a discussion.

"I was with my partner as I agreed," Takumi explained, "I hate Takeshi, but killing him? Too much of a hassle."

Kenji nodded, "I can confirm. Adachi was engaging in reconnaissance with me until around midnight, on the lookout for dirty murderers. After ensuring our safety, we retired to our quarters."

Mayu folded her arms, "Then that's enough. This narrows the list even further."

"What are you doing?" Nico stepped ahead of me, "Interrogating people already?"

Mayu handed Nico the paper for the Buddy System, "As per instruction by Satoshi, I am interviewing each duo. Someone snuck out to kill Takeshi this morning. Testimony from the partners is imperative."

It clicked, "So whoever's partner was unaccounted for is the killer?"

Kenji's eyes went wide, "What, you suspected us!?"

"I was confirming my own suspicions," Mayu retorted, "Granberia and Shinji were assigned together, but Granberia was with Shinju to keep her spirit up. Nari was Takeshi's partner, and she was clearly not around to protect him. Or..."

Nico added, "So Nari and Shinji are our only two suspects, hm?"

"What!?" Nari exclaimed, having walked in on us.

Kenji just sighed as loudly as possible, as if dying inside, "Here we go..."

Nari ignored him, a blessing in disguise, as she walked towards Nico, "Excuse you. Why am I a suspect?"

Nico calmly replied with no fear in his voice, "You were meant to be with Takeshi last night. Where were you?"

"What, that buddy system? Like I care. I'm not spending time with Takeshi after he threatened Shinju... I don't think I could control myself if I did," Nari honestly admitted.

"And now he's dead," Nico dryly addressed his own suspicions, "Do you see why we have a right to suspect you?"

She seemed offended by this, "Nico, do you... Do you really think I'd kill him?"

Kenji interjected with his usual attitude, "Obviously. I mean, you're an abusive, whiny, uptight bitch. Maybe you're not the killer, I don't know. Wouldn't kill me if it was, though."

Wow. A bit too honest, don't you think?

Now this is normally where Nari would beat Kenji up and he'd bemoan his bad taste in jokes. But that didn't happen this time.

Nari didn't answer, just turning her back to us and stepping away. Right before she exited the room, she responded, "Whatever. Think what you want." she looked back, giving Mayu and I a pained look, "I guess some things can't change."

Mayu handed me the buddy system papers she always held a copy of, "If you could... Hold onto these for the trial. I'm going to speak with her."

"Wait, before you go..." I almost forgot, "Did Shinji have cuts other than his eye from Fuuko?"

Mayu's eyebrows lifted, "What? No, none that I recall seeing. I checked him over thoroughly."

I shook my head, "No worries, just curious. I'll see you later, Mayu."

Mayu left us, with just Kenji, Takumi, Nico, and I. Nico looked over the buddy system copy he had, "Shizue and Mayu. Kenji and Takumi. Kibou and Hanako. Koneko and Shinju. Akihiko and Daisuke. Satoshi and I. Shinji and Granberia, and Nari and Takeshi. Check marks for everyone but Satoshi, myself, Shinji, and Nari. Better go tell Satoshi."

Kenji stopped him, "Hey, did I really go too far?"

Nico glared at him, "What do you think?"

Takumi walked to the door and grudgingly looked back, "Wow, Kenji. You have no idea how to talk to girls, do you?"

Kenji clenched his hands at that one, "Are you kidding me right now!? He said that to me!?"

Ignoring him for now, I strolled out of the lounge and headed towards Shinji's cottage, the new evidence in hand.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Buddy System Schedule was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Passing by Yoshikazu's cottage, I remembered Fuuko's recent outbursts. Now would be a good time to confront her. I walked over to the cottage and opened it up. Stepping inside, Fuuko looked over to me from her bed, "Another one? Though I assume you're not here to chat..."

"Another one? Did someone else visit you?" I asked, curious.

Fuuko sat back on the bed, hands folded on her lap, "Does it matter? She just needed to talk..."

She, huh? Perhaps...

"I just came to check up on you, ensure you're safe. If Shinji is so determined to keep you alive and well, I'll abide his wishes," I honestly admitted, "But if you ever hurt him again, I will kill you."

Fuuko nodded as if barely there, "Understood... I know my place now. I have to live, for Shinju."

I left her to her own devices and shut and locked the door behind me, the extra keys I had... Snatched from Shinji earlier.

With these keys, I opened the door to Takeshi's cottage. I was desperate for clues, anything that would point to some other possibility. His room was barren, except for a pencil and a neat letter on his desk. The lamp's bulb had burnt out, and the floor was dirty. Takeshi had gotten crumbs everywhere due to taking his food in here.

I picked up the letter, and noticed how detailed his writing was. In full cursive, it was signed from Takeshi Kurosawa. I flipped it over in my hands before undoing the seal with great care not to tear it, opening the letter. Inside was a single note, written in the same fancy way the name was placed on it.

After reading it, I felt an even thicker lump in my throat. The despair was growing, and all I had left to do was talk to Shinji.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takeshi's Letter was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.**

Knock, knock. I was careful not to hit the door too hard this time, now that I wasn't in an excited rush.

The door opened, and Shinji stepped out, "Again, Shizue? Is something the matter?"

"We need to talk," I spoke with my quieter, more serious tone, "Granberia was meant to be your buddy last night. She was with Shinju."

"Yeah, so?" Shinji didn't get what I was implying.

I explained, "You have no alibi, then, unlike the others. This strongly suggests you might be the killer. And with the other evidence I've found, it all points... to you."

Shinji's eye went wide for a moment before he sighed, "Is that how it is? I'm the suspect again, huh?"

I reached out for him, "Shinji, please. Tell me I'm wrong."

Shinji didn't answer me for the longest time, instead remaining in silence with me. We stood there for an eternity.

Finally, he spoke, "I have to tell you-"

 ***Ding, dong, bing, bong***

Monokuma appeared on every monitor across the entire resort, "I'm bored, guys. I think it's time for death! Everyone, to the stage area! On the double! Everyone is sick of waiting!"

Shinji stopped mid-sentence and shrugged, "Too late for that..."

"Shinji, are you-" Shinji didn't waste time, planting a kiss directly on my cheek, "Shinji?"

He held out his hand, and I grabbed it, squeezing it to make sure he was really there, and he confidently stated, "Just trust me, and everything will be fine."

When we arrived at the stage, everyone else was there.

Daisuke perked up, "Shinji, thank God. Haven't seen you in a while, man. Thought something must have happened to you."

Granberia walked over to him and tugged on his shirt, "No hiding."

Shinji smiled as he patted Granberia on the head as he often did, "No worries, Granberia. I'm still here."

With all fifteen of us standing on the elevator, it began to descend into the depths of this resort. Once again, we were in a high-pitched battle between life and death, hope or despair. This time it was my responsibility to keep us safe.

Looking around at the others, I made a solemn pledge to solve the case, no matter how costly I felt it would be.


	26. Dying for Aesthetics, Trial

**Chapter Two-Dying for Aesthetics**

 **TRIAL**

 **Shizue's POV**

Slow was the descent into madness, otherwise known as the trial area. We all took turns assessing the mental state of our fellow students. With the expressions on most of our countenances one of worry or fear, every one of us was clearly uneasy about having to come back here so soon after the last time.

After the stage finally lurched to a grinding halt before stopping completely, each of us took our turn stepping off and heading towards the center room. Our trial room had been redecorated with blue velvet covering the walls and pillars.

Once again, we each took a stand at our individual podiums, looking across the way at each other. In place of Yoshikazu, Emiko, and Takeshi were three pictures of them, each X'd out and faded to black and white.

Now it was Mayumi, Emiko's placard, Akihiko, Yoshikazu's placard, Daisuke, myself, Kenji, Hanako, Shinju, Nico, Shinji, Kibou, Satoshi, Takeshi's placard, Koneko, Granberia, Nari, and Takumi.

"Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for 'whodunnit.' If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person..." Monokuma stretched the last word out for emphasis, "I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this resort!"

Izuru, who was observing us from the stands, added, "Unless our deal permits some other circumstances, of course."

Fuuko was also in the stands, seated next to Izuru, "Do I have to be here? It's so uncomfortable having to watch this again..."

"Should have considered that before you joined us," Izuru shut her down without even looking at her.

Fuuko pouted, though she was certainly less mad than depressed by the whole routine.

Monokuma shouted over them, "Quiet down, the good stuff is starting! I wanna see them cry again!"

Kenji just muttered under his breath, "Fuck you, too..."

Nico talked over him, "Well, time for basic trial procedures. Who wants to point out the obvious murder weapon?"

"Trial procedures?" Takumi sounded confused.

Kibou raised her hand in politeness, and Nico acknowledged her, "You mean the hanging cord, right?"

"Not this time," Akihiko spoke up, "Underneath the cord on Takeshi's neck was a hidden wound. Someone sliced his neck. Then they attempted to deceive us by hiding it with the hanging."

Mayu added, "The Monokuma File does not explicitly list a cause of death, so the obvious choice is not the correct one. Plus, the condition of the cord isn't very strained. Not much pressure was put on it except for Takeshi's weight."

"So that means...?" Kibou asked.

"He was not strangled with it. Nor did he resist being hung with it. Odd, unless he was unconscious or dead," Mayu further argued, "And with a severed artery in his neck, the result should be clear."

I agreed with them, "With the cord being so blatant, it's definitely the neck wound. We even found a knife on the scene with blood on it, a clear culprit. It was tossed aside in the nearby bushes, a quick and shoddy job of disposing the murder weapon."

Daisuke's eyes widened as I held up the knife, "Shinji, bro, that's your knife!"

"Yeah, it is," Shinji solemnly replied, "I left it in Aki's pile of assorted 'deadly items' when he patted us all down, though."

"Handed it over quite willingly, might I add," Aki confirmed Shinji's explanation.

"I also must note he didn't take it back with him when we left," Granberia spoke up, "After I walked him to his cottage, I left to spend time with Shinju instead, but during that time he didn't have it."

Shinji added, "And why would I use my own knife? And leave it at the crime scene, hm?"

Koneko moved her tail back and forth, "The killer wanted to frame you, duh! You'd never betray us!" The smile on her face resembled the shy face of a happy kitten.

Panterbell, who had wandered into the trial room with us, meowed in agreement before leaping onto Koneko's podium, where she began scratching under his chin.

Shinji smiled back at her. She did have endless faith in him. Much like a cat would. No wonder Nari ravaged her for being adorable all the time.

"We're not pointing fingers yet anyways," Satoshi intervened, "There are other issues to discuss. Like motive and alibis..."

"Hey, Monokuma," Aki asked, "Any accomplice this time or no?"

Monokuma scratched his chin, "Well, that's a pretty big hint, don't you think? I'd say you're on your own this time."

Aki shrugged, "Well, I tried."

Nico spoke up, "Now that Monokuma's being vague, I have reason to suspect him. Bit first; we must discuss the rest of the key evidence. Like the bear trap left at the scene."

Takumi questioned, "Then what was the bear trap for?"

"The bear trap still had the price tag on it," I explained, "Someone committed the murder, ran down to the market, took the trap, and placed the cord on it so if it was pulled, it would activate."

Nico finished the thought, "Since it was plugged in, it would give whoever tried to recover the body a nasty shock and send the body plummeting."

"Where'd the cord even come from?" Takumi asked, "Did they get that from the supermarket, too?"

There was something off about that statement...

Takumi continued, "It makes sense, right? Get the bear trap and the cord at the same time, yeah?"

"Could they really lug it all that way, though?" Nari doubted him, "That's not the easiest thing to drag over."

Kenji rejected her suggestion, "And killing Takeshi would be easy? It's possible."

Nari just glared back at him, "Really? Do you actually disagree with the statement or is it just because I gave it?"

"I haven't decided yet," Kenji gave her a snarky response with his trademark grin as his glasses reflected light from the ceiling bulbs.

Nari whispered, just audible, "They'll never find your corpse..."

"And without any proof that it came from somewhere else..." Takumi lead off another statement.

"That's wrong!" I broke his chain of thought, "The cord had been washed in some areas. Apparently, the killer had dragged it through some mud."

"So?" Takumi was unconvinced, "Why does that matter?"

I shook my head, "If you carried it over from the supermarket, you'd have kept it rolled up, not drag it across the ground. The cord was for the stage. They simply found the cord in the warehouse, plugged it into the warehouse socket, and dragged it with haste to the scene of the crime," The rest was on Shizue's part, only theory, "Only too late did they notice the mud left on it. They quickly scrubbed it away but left marks indicating their actions."

"Objection!" Daisuke slammed his fist onto the table, "There was that computer place nearby, too, right!? Why not use that!? It would be much simpler!"

Shinji pointed out, "Yes, that mess of cords under a bunch of desks would be such a great idea. This person was clearly rushing to put everything together. Better spend five months rearranging cords not to blow another god damned fuse."

Shinju finally spoke up herself, "So the bear trap and cord being plugged in was to kill the person who discovered the corpse?"

"Or at least incapacitate them," Nico had a darker expression, "Shizue could have been killed."

I sighed, "I expected to be a target after last time..."

Mayu called out to me, "Hey, don't worry about that. As long as I'm here, I'll protect you. I promised."

I smiled back, giving her a small nod before bringing up my next point, "The murder was clearly rushed. Likely, whomever committed the murder had no prior plans set up. Either it was a crime of passion, or..."

"No one would throw their lives away over some petty grudge," Mayu opined, "I don't think the killer planned this ahead of time. Either it was a crime of passion, or... Possibly self-defense."

"Self defense?" Nico wanted her to go further in depth.

Granberia agreed, "Takeshi has a violent streak. Perhaps he attacked someone and they killed him in the ensuing fight."

"And who would do that?" Daisuke demanded to know, not too excited by the drawn out discussions.

I admitted, "Anyone in theory could have killed him, right? No evidence has singled out any one person." The others nodded, "It occurred this morning, so I suppose the next step would be searching for alibis."

Satoshi sighed, "Well, you know my condition. I could never lug that cord myself. Too much weight."

Mayu pulled out her buddy system paper, "I have this right here. Everyone had a partner last night, though a couple of people weren't with them."

I agreed with her, "Nari was meant to be with Takeshi, but she excused herself due to how angry she felt at him at the time."

Nari nodded, "Instead, I stayed in my room. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. What with Shinju betraying us..."

Shinju tried to defend herself, "Nari, you know I'd never want to-"

"Would you? What you did just before this game started suggests otherwise. Maybe you're still Ultimate Despair, even now," Nari usually refrained from making such harsh statements, but her filter was gone.

Granberia defended Shinju as she was too shocked to reply, "I was with her instead of Shinji last night to guarantee her safety. Koneko can vouch for us both."

Koneko nodded, "Yeah, we worked together to try to cheer her up!"

"Meaning Shinji was also unattended," Nico adjusted his glasses while looking at the paper, "Everyone else confirmed they were with their partner already."

Takumi simplified it for us, "So either Nari or Shinji did it. Nice!"

"How the hell is that nice?" Daisuke was getting his temper up again, "My best friend left is the supposed killer!" Daisuke looked at Shinji, "If you fucking do this to me right now..."

Shinji put up his hands in self-defense, "Hey, now! Why would I kill Takeshi?"

Mayu added, "Shinji would never be so callous as to commit a murder like that."

Akihiko thought about it for a moment, "I mean, maybe he framed himself with his own knife. It's so obvious, it's not, right?"

Shinji rolled his eye, "Assuming I went to get it at what, 3 in the morning? Why would I be out so early? I'm a night person, but I'm still afraid of the dark."

Thinking back on the evidence, it really did suggest Shinji did it, "In the cafe lounge, there's a sign-in sheet. Shinji signed in at 2:35 in the morning and left ten minutes later. He would be in the area at the time." I brought that up, knowing what may happen.

Shinji stared right at me, as if boring into my soul with some kind of drill, "That doesn't mean-"

Kenji interjected on his behalf, "Shinji, kill him? What motive would he have?"

"Actually, I might know..." Koneko's tail sagged, "A few days ago, Monokuma came to Shinji and spilled his motive. I was on my way to Shinji's to talk to him during that thunderstorm, but after that, I just went back to bed."

Aki asked, "What was it?" A bit louder, "Shinji, what was the offer?"

"None of your business," Shinji cut him off, uncharacteristically angry, "Like I'd believe Monokuma anyways!? Do you guys have no faith in me?"

Nico brought up, "You said you'd kill someone if they were involved in Jun's death. Why am I to believe you wouldn't kill for another strong reason? Maybe Monokuma offered you information about that."

Shinji groaned in annoyance, "Fine, whatever. He said I'd get to leave here with Mayu, Koneko, Granberia, Nari, Shinju, and Shizue if I offed someone. I said no."

"But you could have changed your mind," Kenji proposed his own theory, "I'd kill for Hanako, if it was absolutely necessary."

Hanako grabbed Kenji's arm firmly, "You had better not, Kenji. What would I do without you?"

Kenji blushed, "Okay, Hanako."

"And he called Shinji whipped," Nari smirked at him, "How the tables have turned."

Kenji glared back at her as he stuck his tongue out like a naughty child.

Shinji continued to defend himself, "I'm more of a die to save them kind of person. Killing is... It should only be a last resort."

"What if it was?" I asked him, and he slowly sighed, "You have wounds on your side. I found blood stains near the stage. Mayu confirmed you didn't have those cuts when Fuuko harmed you."

Mayu added, "Care to show us?"

Shinji reluctantly moved his shirt and showed us his cuts, "Okay, yeah, I got into a fight with Takeshi last night. What about it?"

"What!?" A few people exclaimed in unison.

Akihiko pounded his fist on the podium, "You idiot! Why didn't you mention that before!?"

Shinji shrunk back as if afraid Akihiko would hit him, "Because then you'd just accuse me and move on! You wouldn't even have tried to solve this case!"

"What do you mean by that?" Nari asked him to explain.

"You guys just want an easy way out. If I told you I fought him, you'd condemn me right there. What more proof do you need!?" Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, his desperate expression breaking my heart.

Kenji shook his head, "Come on, man. We're willing to hear you out."

Shinji perked up, "You'll actually let me speak?"

Nari grimaced, "Whatever. Won't change your guilt."

Shinji glared at her, "Nari, really? You're willing to throw me under the bus? For what!?" He held both of his arms out to his sides, "For peace of mind!? You know what happens if you don't catch the actual killer!"

Nico held his hand under his chin, "Calm yourself, Shinji. No need being so defensive. Just makes you look more guilty."

Shinji stopped arguing and looked around at us, his expression worsening, growing more hopeless with each set of eyes he looked into, "Do you guys really think I'd... Look," he began to confess, "I was going through some pretty rough insomnia, worrying about Shinju. Granberia had gone to comfort her, so it was harder for me to sleep. Eventually, I figured I'd make a milkshake. Try to make me sleepy that way."

"Milkshakes do have a tendency to put his lights out," Shinju added, "Caffeinated drinks also put him to sleep, oddly enough. Must be his ADHD."

Shinji nodded, "Made my drink and enjoyed it. Afterwards, I remembered I had left my knife at the stage. I went to go get it, and on the way there, I spotted Takeshi. I went up and asked him what he was doing, and he used my knife to try and kill me."

"Bullshit!" Kenji exclaimed, "That sounds way too simple! How am I supposed to take your word for it!?"

"What do you want from me?" Shinji drooped onto his podium, "It's the truth. Takeshi tried to kill me."

Akihiko clenched his right hand for a moment, "Do you have proof?"

Shinji looked up, his eye glazed over, "What proof could I have?"

I pulled out Takeshi's letter, "I found this in his room. It's a goodbye letter. In it, he admits to his plan. He wanted to kill Shinji; he wrote it himself."

"See?" Shinji pointed to me, "Wait, how did you get into his room?" Shinji reached for his set of keys only to find his pocket empty.

I held his key ring, "I borrowed this from you."

Shinji sighed, "Well then."

Mayu reached out her hand, "What else does the letter say?"

I didn't want to have to do this, but I knew this case had to be solved. I paraphrased part of the letter, "Takeshi wrote that if he died, and his plan failed, that Shinji was the killer."

Shinji glared at me, "Really, Shizue? You think I did it!?"

"You're the only one who could, Shinji!" I yelled back at him, my voice cracking in both fear and anticipation.

"What do you mean by that, Shizue?" Nico asked, a concerned expression on his face.

I handed him the letter, "In it, he says he's the Ultimate Survivor. In every dangerous scenario, everyone around him dies! He's the sole survivor! He's destined to be the only one to live."

"Ah, makes sense. He must have known killing one of us should have guaranteed his freedom at the onset of this game," Nico opined, "But he restrained himself. Maybe he put some stock in the rest of us. Then, once Yoshikazu killed someone, he lost faith in us."

I agreed with that, "Monokuma told him his prize; if he killed and got away with it, Kenta would remove his harmful ability. He'd be able to live a normal life."

Kibou held her hand to her heart, "Oh... Takeshi... If he had just talked to me, to us..."

"He could never do that," Aki interrupted, "His pride, his guilt. He bottled it all up. Frankly, this seems inevitable..."

Kibou refused to abide by that, "So what were we supposed to do!? Give up on him!?"

Aki flinched at her outburst, "I never suggested-"

"You have no idea what he went through! The least you can do is respect him now that he's gone!" Kibou tried to hold in her tears, but she finally broke.

Mayu agreed, "Disrespecting the dead will get us nowhere. We must focus on the case at hand."

"Takeshi wanted to be free of his talent, okay. Sad? Yes. But not very explanatory... Why did he choose Shinji, out of all of us?" Daisuke wasn't following.

"His talent," Takumi exclaimed, "His power could interfere with Takeshi's! If he killed Shinji, it guaranteed he'd get away with the crime!"

I defended Takumi's assumption, "Takeshi planned to kill Shinji. Then, he would frame Nari for the crime by wounding himself and claiming Shinji got involved between the two. He wrote this letter if Shinji's power killed him in the middle of his plan. He wanted to take Shinji down, too."

"Wow, such despair!" Monokuma laughed heartily, "Takeshi hated you so much, he even went to sell you out after he died! How does that make you feel, Shinji!?"

"It's not like that!" I couldn't let that sit, "Takeshi didn't hate Shinji... He said it in his note. It was just necessary. He left that letter so we could save ourselves if he failed. If he failed, he wanted the majority of us to live. Don't twist it to say he wanted Shinji dead no matter what..."

Shinji folded his arms behind his head, "Either way, it seems he's fucked me over, isn't it? You have conclusive proof he was planning to kill me, and you know I had to be involved in his death. What else do you need?"

Nari was noticeably shaken up, and she tried to make demands, "Shinji, did you do it or not!?"

"He was killed by my knife, so one could assume I took it from him in the fight," Shinji began narrating, "Then I rushed to set up the crime scene, left behind clear cut evidence, and worst of all, gave Shizue the tools she needed to convict her own lover. Is that how you want to wrap this case up?"

"You did it, didn't you?" Nari sounded heartbroken, though a part of me thought it could just be an act. Was it really Shinji?

Shinji returned her stare, "Believe in me or don't. I have nothing more to say."

Was Shinji really the killer? It was simple, unbelievably so. The trial had yet to even be suspended yet. Something felt off...

 **CLASS TRIAL  
SUSPEND**

Monokuma, Fuuko, and Izuru showed up together on a separate screen, "Isn't this exciting!? Everyone distrusts each other now! Just like the beta wanted!" Monokuma referenced Distrust, the beta title for the first game.

Fuuko angrily glared at him, "I may have wanted payback earlier, but this... I don't think Shinji deserves this anymore."

"Lost your nerve?" Izuru mocked her, "You tortured Shinji alone in hundreds of simulations, but now your guilty conscience shows itself!?"

Instead of arguing, Fuuko just slumped to the floor and began to cry softly into her knees, covering her face.

Monokuma ignored the both of them, "Anyways, now let's end this boring obligatory segment! I wanna murder!"

 **CLASS TRIAL**

 **CONTINUE**

The entire trial area had gone silent with Shinji's last words. Believe me or don't. I loved him, even now, when it seemed he was the killer. I couldn't help it. Shouldn't I believe in him? Is that what love is? Blind faith? Or is it that, because I love him, I have to doubt him? Either path seemed rife with tragedy.

Daisuke shook his head back and forth, "No, no! I don't want to believe you did it, man! Not twice in a row!"

"There is no way Shinji did it," Mayu came to his defense, "The evidence is against him, but I believe in him."

Nico readjusted his glasses, "Belief is fine, but if he did do it, we can't hesitate in our judgement. No matter how much we want to look away from the truth..."

Koneko whimpered, "Shinji... Did you betray us?"

Nari walked from her podium to Koneko's and patted her on her head, "It's okay, Koneko. I've got you..."

"No." Granberia was quiet at first, but she said it again, louder, "No. Shinji didn't do it."

"The evidence-" Aki started.

Granberia shot him a glare so vicious, Aki silenced himself immediately, "First off, trial procedures. This is too easy."

Takumi groaned, "Trial procedures again? The hell does that even mean!?"

"Trials have rules to them. Discuss something obvious off the bat, and the first person you suspect never did it," Nico reiterated his opinion, "Mind you, with no evidence towards another person, it seems clear that Shinji-"

"Framed himself. Right, Monokuma?" Granberia turned her wrathful gaze towards the mechanical bear, "If there was no accomplice, it would have been easy to say so. Your hesitation suggests to me there is."

Kenji disagreed, "Or he's just being a dick."

Granberia rejected this theory, "Takumi was unknowingly an accomplice to Yoshikazu, and Monokuma did nothing to hide that. He outright said there were not two killers. If he likes to hide the truth from us, it's clear Shinji's just an observer, an accomplice."

 _! That's it!_

"The Body Discovery Announcement!" No one knew what I meant, indicated by the quizzical expressions of my classmates, "It goes off once three people who are not the killer have seen the body! But only Kenji and I saw it before it went off!"

Kenji scratched his chin, "Actually, you're right. Did anyone else see Takeshi's body beforehand?"

When no one raised their hand, I suggested, "Shinji definitely did if Takeshi attacked him."

"Yeah, the killer obviously would," Nari reacted to my statement with condescending disapproval.

"But what if Shinji was just a witness?" I reasserted my position, "Shinji never denied seeing the body once we got him to confess to fighting. All he says is he wants us to believe in him. If we do, that means he just bore witness to the crime, but didn't commit it himself."

Nari sounded even more annoyed, "Enough theatrics. A witness? Shinji had to do it himself. His talent-"

"What if he just disabled Takeshi's and let someone else kill him? Or maybe he didn't even know they were there?" A new theory had come into my mind now, "What if someone saw Takeshi attack Shinji, and killed him to protect Shinji?"

"That's making a lot of assumptions-" Nico didn't take this new development very well.

Granberia interjected, "Shinji would be first witness and accomplice. Someone would kill Takeshi to save him, and then he framed himself blatantly to take the fall. He disposed of evidence that implicated the real killer and set us all on the wrong track."

I looked at Shinji, who was staring at the floor, "Well, Shinji?"

Shinji finally made eye contact with the rest of us, "At least some of you here has faith in me. Thank you, Granberia, Shizue."

Daisuke pounded his fist on the podium, "Enough bullshit! Shinji, who did it!?"

"Do you really think I could sell them out!? Condemn them to death!? They killed for me! It's my fault! It's..." Shinji trailed off, "Not my place to solve this case for you. I'm just glad I didn't throw you guys off completely."

Izuru stepped down from the stands, "Oh, Shinji. It seems your plan to frame yourself failed. But if you're lucky, the real killer still won't be exposed."

"What do you mean?" I asked, eying Izuru with disdain.

Izuru chuckled, "Shinji is not the killer. He did make a deal with me, though. The contents of which, I'm afraid I can't discuss until a verdict is reached."

Everyone looked at Shinji now, who maintained his composure, "...I cannot break my vow of silence."

"What's with this false honour bullshit!?" Nari yelled, "Just tell us, dumbass! Before we all get axed! That samurai vow of silence shit died with Yoshikazu, dammit!"

Daisuke angrily snarled, "Don't say his name in vain! He sacrificed himself to save you! How ungrateful can you be!?"

"He sacrificed himself to kill you, dumbass!" Nari was in tears, "And my best friend. And Shinji, and Shinju, and everyone else here I care about! He was not brave! Or a hero! He was selfish! Just like Shinji is being right now!"

Kenji grimaced, "Hate to say it, but she's not wrong. Shinji is willing to throw us under the bus just to protect one killer."

"Oh, I know," Satoshi hit his palm with his fist, "It's one of his girlfriends! He'd never rat them out!"

Akihiko's brow furrowed, "And the only one without any alibi is..." Every one of us turned to Nari, who had stepped away from Koneko.

Nari rolled her eyes, "What, me? I hate Takeshi, but kill him?"

"Wouldn't you save Shinji's life?" Mayu asked, "You love him, don't you? You just said it."

Nari berated her, "Why would I kill here, though!? Are you stupid!? That's basically throwing my life away, too! Shinji would want me to live for him! To solve his murder, not become the killer!"

Shinji shrugged, "She has a point. I'd rather die than see any one here go through... What we've seen happen to Emiko and Yoshikazu..."

"Regardless, it makes sense Shinji would lie and frame himself to protect you," Nico commented, as if a casual observer, "Dislike for Takeshi, powerful enough to face off against him, known sadistic tendencies, and a lack of an alibi. All fits together pretty cleanly if you ask me."

Nari backed away a bit from the rest of us, "...Fine. Go ahead, condemn me. I deserve it, anyways..."

Koneko's tail sagged, "But Nari... Did you...?"

"I hated Takeshi. He harmed my Shinju, and you, my dear neko..." Nari patted Koneko on the head once more, "I didn't think of actually...killing him, though."

"How can we believe that?" Kenji refused to accept that, "You're like, one of the meanest people here. Even when you try to make a point, you just shit on us."

Nari just chuckled at that, "Yeah... I do. I'm not... a good person. I'm foul-mouthed, rude, and narcissistic. I've been unfairly rude to many of you, and I even let my best friend die..."

Shinji shook his head, "That was not your fault, Nari."

Nari pleadingly looked up at him, "And hurting Shinju like I have been doing was okay!? Just because I'm afraid!? I feel powerless, and then I say such cruel things, and now..." Nari sighed deeply, "Now some of you want to accuse me of murder. So, fine. I guess I don't deserve to live, huh?"

Kenji for once, tried to broker a truce, "Okay, Nari, look. You're kind of a bitch. A total bitch, at times. But I don't 'hate' you. I just wish you'd treat me like, you know, a person? Is that too much to ask?"

"A person who peeps into my room?" Nari countered him.

"...Good point. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Kenji held out his hand to her, and reluctantly she took it, "Let bygones be bygones, okay? Don't want to die with regrets if we fuck this up."

For once, Nari managed to smile again, and she nodded, "Agreed."

Kenji scratched at his chin for a bit, "Emiko's still a bitch, though."

Nari glared at him, but she for once held her temper.

Nico interrupted the moment, "Nari, what did you do last night? You _are_ still our only suspect left..."

Nari moved her hair behind her ear, "Well, I don't really want to say, but... I went and talked to someone. They could, in theory, provide me an alibi, but I doubt it."

I remembered what someone said. It was... that person, wasn't it?

I pointed to someone, and declared, "You, right!?"

Fuuko eyed me suspiciously, "Excuse you?"

"When I visited you just before the trial, you said someone else visited you earlier. You even said 'her'. Nari went to see you last night, didn't she?" I revealed my accusation plainly.

Fuuko avoided looking at me, her head directed towards the ground, "Yeah, whatever. She came to forgive me or some shit."

"Forgiveness? You?" Daisuke joked.

Nari longed to silence him, but she opted to be honest, "Mock me all you want. I blamed her for... Emiko. But I have to move on. Yoshikazu did it, not her. And if I don't forgive her, I couldn't forgive Shinju, too... And I have to."

Shinju and Nari finally met each other's gaze, "Nari..."

"I still love you, damnit. Even if you put me in danger, I can't help myself but to love you," Nari laughed a little bit, "Damn Stockholm Syndrome kicking in, huh?"

Kenji snickered as he glanced at Shinji, "Seems to be common around here."

Nico ignored the two for the time being, "Fuuko, when did Nari visit?"

Fuuko hesitated, "Well, she came in around midnight, and we talked until the sun rose. She's one of the few people here to actually... Treat me like a human being."

"Strange, coming from her," Nari ignored Daisuke's second joke, instead having a side conversation with Shinju.

Satoshi spoke up once more, "That's a serious problem, though. If Nari has an alibi, then doesn't it have to be Shinji?"

"Izuru even said he wasn't," Kenji pointed out, "He might be lying, but that would leave us a witness short."

"There's no options left," Nico sighed, "Everyone else was accounted for and with their buddy."

Akihiko addressed Shinji, "Mind helping us out!?" Shinji acknowledged him, "Tell us who did it, dumbass!"

"I made a promise... but I can disclose the events that transpired in full," Shinji explained before going into detail.

 **Shinji's Flashback**

Disposing my drink into the garbage can in the lounge, I felt my pocket and remembered I had forgotten to retrieve my knife. Begrudgingly, I decided to get it now. After the failed talent show and what had happened with Shinju, I refused to potentially tempt people with weapons.

Walking up the steps to the second area, I noted the bright, shining moon in the sky, only half of it. Was it waxing or waning? Likely waxing, since it was becoming a full moon.

Only at the last possible moment did I notice Takeshi was at the table of dangerous items before me. I was next to the stage and I called out, "Takeshi? Bit early to be up and about, isn't it?"

Takeshi slowly rotated in an eerie manner, my knife at the ready in his right hand, "Well, this will save time..."

"What...?" Takeshi charged me and the blade sliced me in the abdomen as I shifted to the side, "The fuck!?"

Takeshi glared at me as he continued his relentless assault. I was not prepared to dodge, and he cut me several times before I got some distance between us, "Tch. Not going quietly, huh?"

"Fuck that!" I exclaimed, running towards the cliffside. I guess, deep in my panicked mind, I had thought up a way to survive. Trick Takeshi into falling over the side if I had to. The fall might kill him, but hopefully not. Then I could get the others.

Takeshi followed at a significantly slower pace, stalking me like prey. He had a fierce, wrathful expression, as if I was to blame. I remembered the pounding of my heart very clearly. I had never felt so mortal, so endangered.

"Why run? Accept your fate," Takeshi growled behind me.

I gave him an incredulous look, "The hell do you think, you crazy blood-soaked bastard!? Why are you attacking me!?"

Takeshi rushed for me, knife in hand. Seeing no other option, I cheated.

I struck him as hard as I could with my fist, feeling the pain myself as I aimed directly into his groin. His grip on the knife loosened, and I kicked his hand, knocking it to the ground. I kicked the blade away from us and jumped back when Takeshi swung a fist.

Takeshi turned to get the knife, "You move, I'll jump. I'll kill myself before I let you win." I threatened.

He growled at me with such vigorous hatred as he responded, "I want to end this... I'm going to end the curse!"

"How about you explain yourself!? Why the fuck are you trying to kill me!?" I knew Takeshi probably didn't like me, but murder? Why? "Did Monokuma give you some hollow promise!?"

"If I get away with murder this time... My motive is to get the curse lifted. Everyone around me will stop dying... Kenta could fix me!" Takeshi was desperate in voice and action, "You're all going to die, anyway. It's fated. I'm just hastening the inevitable!"

I argued, "But my power can cancel yours out! Not all of us have to die!"

Takeshi shook his head, not in defiance, but in acceptance, "Too much work. I've already brought ruin to all of my friends and family. I want to be FREE!"

"And to do that, you'll stain your hands with blood!? You'll sink to being a killer!?" I yelled back, "You didn't hurt them, Takeshi. Kenta did! Let me help!"

It was only at that time that I realized someone close to me had gained control of the knife, and had it at her side. She was walking up behind Takeshi, likely to disable him so we could resolve this peacefully. Or so I hoped.

Takeshi reached into his pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army Knife. As he revealed the knife, which was four or five inches long and about an inch thick, he sighed, "Shinji, I'm sorry. If I let you live, you'd ruin my escape."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "Takeshi, don't do this!"

"I have to. For Sachiko!" He rushed forward, but he was too slow. Behind him, our mystery guest ran the blade across his neck. Blood spattered onto his shirt as he slumped to the ground. Although it felt like forever, it was over in an instant.

I ran over to Takeshi, ignoring my comrade. Taking off my shirt, I tried applying pressure to his throat, but the artery had been severed, "No, Takeshi! Please, don't die on me!"

Takeshi's eyes focused on me as blood pooled and matted his short blond hair. He tried to speak, but only gurgles came out at first. Eventually, he mouthed, "Thank you," before his pulse went away completely.

After an argument with the killer, Izuru eventually showed up. He offered me a deal. If I could successfully frame myself, he'd let us all go. If that fell through, but the killer got away with it... Well, if I say, that would void the deal. So let's just say I was the one who framed myself, and the killer didn't even know about my involvement. They didn't help me; they accepted their fate, and I...

 **Shizue's POV**

We stayed in silence after hearing Shinji's full explanation of Takeshi's death. We had no idea who had killed him, and even though Shinji had shed light on the mystery behind his actions, it left a burning question.

Satoshi asked it, "So who's the killer?"

Shinji pointed to me, "She knows. She's the only one here other than me who could know. She has to convict the killer."

"What!? Me!?" I couldn't believe what he had just said.

"From the start, I gave you all the clues. Not Granberia or Nari or anyone else. You. Only you can solve this case," Shinji explained, "I know it's a heavy burden, and for me to force you to reveal it, that's unforgivable. I don't even mind if you hate me... But you have to do it."

"Why can't we do it?" Nico asked, clearly unconvinced.

Shinji held out his handbook, "Everyone here has the same truth bullets, in theory. Only Shizue can use the right one to prove who the killer is."

Why me? What information did I have that the others didn't? What was the definitive proof it wasn't Shinji or Nari...?

Bear trap, the cord, the buddy system, the knife, his confession... Where was the ultimate hint? The most important clue...?

"No..." It clicked, and I hated the truth the second it crossed my mind, "No! No! No! It... That's not fair!" I shouted, somewhat unaware of where I was, "It was so obvious! Why!? WHY!?"

Nico interrupted me, "Who is it!?"

Mayu nodded, "Shizue, please. We need you right now."

Daisuke chimed in, "Whoever it is won't hold it against you, probably," Daisuke scratched his nose, "I mean, it sounds like they intended to get caught."

Kibou frowned, "Please don't be Satoshi, please don't be Satoshi..."

Satoshi glared at her, "Really!?"

Hanako murmured, "Please don't be Kenji, please don't be Kenji..."

Kenji shook his head in disbelief, "You have no faith! What is this!?"

I had to get this over with. I knew I had to. But it hurt so, so much...

"Okishima..." I said, barely audible, "Okishima killed Takeshi."

Everyone turned to the accused, and Aki shook his head, "What, how!? She has a solid alibi!"

"Mayu..." I addressed her, "You were my buddy. But when I woke up, I was alone. I didn't see you until after I'd passed out. Where were you!?"

Shinju and Koneko gasped, and Nari's mouth was agape as the gears turned in their heads.

I hated doing this, but Mayu just stood there, eyes closed as she listened in, "You marked us off without hesitation, but never discussed our alibi with me. Never explained where you were. You didn't even come to my cottage last night. If you were lucky, that shock would have scrambled my memory worse, right? Was that your plan?"

"As you know, I knew naught about Shinji's interference," Mayu explained, "My concern for you, and for him, was always legitimate. I would never fake that."

"However, you're the perfect culprit. You made the buddy system! If you did this to defend him, you never intended to commit murder. You were probably worried because Shinji was left unattended, and went to find him. Is that right?"

Mayu opened her eyes and smiled ever so gently at me, "I didn't mean to abandon you, Shizue. I was fearful of Shinji's mental state. Once I saw him outside, I decided to trail him."

"That was when Takeshi struck. You didn't intervene undefended, picked up the knife Shinji removed from Takeshi's grasp, and killed him with it," Nico nodded his head, understanding the events now.

"After what had happened, Shinji and I fought. I had moved on instinct when I killed Takeshi," Mayumi was confessing already, "I didn't intend to kill him, but when he endangered Shinji, I lost myself. Shinji was furious; I had been dealt a new fate, and unlike before, Shinji couldn't just make it a draw."

Shinji agreed, "I asked her, begged her not to rat herself out. To let the case occur naturally, if only so... I didn't have to watch her kill herself."

"Eventually, I promised not to openly admit to it, and left the evidence to him. I would have confessed before you made the wrong choice, however," Mayu tacked on.

Shinji addressed me, "Shizue was closest to Mayu besides myself. Her solving the case seemed fitting, so I gave her the tools," he sighed, "As I said before, I apologize for that. Repaying Mayumi's kindness by killing her with my own words, of my own volition..."

"What a twist of events, am I right!?" Monokuma laughed hysterically, "To think the calmest, most rational girl here would commit a murder!? Shinji must hate himself right now..."

Shinji opted to say nothing, closing his eyes with a pained expression.

"No!" Akihiko shocked us all, "Absolutely not! There's no way Mayu did! Stop lying!"

Akihiko was Mayu's best male friend, and the time they spent together must have meant a lot to him, "Akihiko..." Kibou said, unable to offer comfort.

"She did it, Aki," I hated condemning her, but Aki was just being irrational now, "She's our only possibility."

Aki groaned in annoyance, "Nari did it! Fuuko just covered for her! She's way more likely to have done it than Mayu!"

Shinji grabbed my attention with a failed whistle, "Shizue, pass the buck. It's my turn."

I nodded.

 **Shinji's POV**

Giving Shizue a half-hearted smile back, I reached for my eye patch and tossed it aside, "Surprise, surprise. Like old Phineas Gage, I experienced a miracle..." I felt my hand over the scar across my eyelid, "My eye should return to full capacity soon if I keep applying those morning eye drops. Fuuko didn't damage the optic nerve, so it might work again."

Fuuko smiled a bit after hearing that, thankful she had caused no permanent damage.

I turned on Akihiko, "Alright, ponce! Why are you doing this to us? Huh? Is it guilt?"

"What!?" Aki exclaimed.

"First, your brother. Then you let Emiko, your first girlfriend, get murdered by your best friend Yoshikazu. Then, when you finally got Takeshi to open up," I was reluctant to say such harsh things, but he was blinding himself to the truth, "He tried to kill me because you didn't stop Kaz. And now Mayu, your best female friend, likely has to get executed because of THAT mistake."

"Why, you-" Akihiko lunged towards me, but Daisuke and Shizue firmly held him back.

I growled at him, "Have you become Takeshi now!? Willing to throw away lives because you blame yourself for others' mistakes!? None of it was your fault, bastard. Kaz and Takeshi made their own mistakes, not you. So why take it out on yourself!?" I held out my hand, "I'd know a lot about self-loathing, Aki. I know how hard it is, how bad you feel. But please... Don't drag this out. Mayu and I have both accepted this harsh reality. You need to, too."

Aki slumped to the floor in defeat, unable to resist any longer, "Whatever..."

A slot machine flashed and spun, just like before. Even more so, we were all incredibly nervous as it spun longer than last time before eventually landing on a little picture of Mayu. Coins flew out, and we all turned to Monokuma, fearful of what we had done.

Monokuma leapt out of the chair and announced, "And you guys voted Mayu! She was... the killer! That's right, Mayumi Okishima is our second Blackened! Hooray!" Monokuma basked in our despair as most of us began to feel that familiar feeling. Mayu and I both remained stalwart and masked our true feelings.

"I would rather die standing than be a victim of your game, bear," Mayu was proud of how she was going to be taken out, "Even to my last breath, I'll have resisted your wiles."

Monokuma smirked, "Oh, nice speech. Quite badass, if I may say so. But save it for if you do die."

Mayu's eyes widened, "What!?"

Two chains came flying from the darkness beyond the trial room's lights and wrapped around Mayu and I, dragging us away to what I believe was the fourth area of the resort.

Mayu was dumped quite a ways away from me down a straight forest path, with walls up to thirty feet on either side. In between me and her was a set of turrets, each armed with arrows of varying sizes, shapes, and make.

A sign that read Ultimate Archer's Last Shot brightened up above us like some Vegas street sign, gaudy and overly flashy.

Mayu quickly rose to her feet and noticed the distance between us. The ground beneath her raised her twenty feet upwards, and Monokuma landed on the platform next to her, "Welcome, welcome!"

The platform moved, held up by a crane as it floated above where I was, "Mayu! You alright!?"

Monokuma giggled with insane glee, "So, this is the 100 Feet Dash! On the other side are two archer turrets, who will slowly speed up as they fire arrows towards you when you close the distance, once for every foot! If you can dodge the arrows and survive to make it to the end, I'll let you both live!"

Mayu called down to me, "Shinji, what is this!?"

"You killed Takeshi for me... So I asked, if I lost, could I save you? Izuru agreed to these terms. I want a chance for us both to live, for you not to have to die..." I clenched my hand into a fist, "I know this is risky, but it's better than laying down. I'll still fight for us, god dammit!"

Mayu's brow creased as she tried to find the right words to say.

I glared at Monokuma before rising to my feet and staring down at the two turrets, "Mayu... Shinju, Shizue. Akihiko... So many of the others care for you! Not just me! I won't let another friend die!"

With that and my own determination settling in, I began to walk forward. Running headlong into danger would be the worst idea. The first two arrows came slowly, and were easily dodged. Two arrows every foot, for a hundred feet, and every one aimed randomly.

99 to go.

The next came faster, as expected, but were far off the mark. I felt my heart pumping into overtime. For every foot that I progressed, the platform above me moved with it. Mayu and Monokuma were looming over me as I made it to the twelfth foot marker.

So far, so good. Monokuma was a cheating bastard, though, and deep down I wondered if this was designed to be impossible. Even if it was, and if it killed me, Mayu would get to live. Was that my hope?

19 feet in, nearly a fifth of the way there. I took a step forward, and the arrows came much more quickly. One whizzed past my cheek, cutting me ever so slightly. Another implanted itself in my kneecap, sending me sprawling, "Oh, hell!"

Grabbing the arrow, I twisted and pulled it out. It hadn't gone into me too deep, maybe a good two or three inches. It hurt like hell, the blinding pain. Even worse, my body began to feel limp, weightless.

Monokuma chuckled, "Did I forget to mention the paralytic effects on the arrows!? Try not to get hit too much..."

"Shinji, just stop! Please!" Mayu called down to me.

Monokuma just shook his head, "No can do, princess. He's not getting out until he's dead or that button on the turrets is hit. A shame, how hard this challenge is. I barely managed to do it. If only he could dress up, maybe he could borrow Shizue's powers to cosplay, but I would never offer a handicap like that. Without an ultimate to copy, he's out of luck!"

"Is that so?" I stumbled to my feet, my hand pressed against the see through wall to my left, "I could copy Mayu's, you know."

Mayu discouraged me from doing that, "Archery is a fine skill to have, but it's not including dodging them, Shinji. My talent is not practical here."

"Of course, Monokuma knew that already. Why he brought you exclusively to watch, with the others at a distance?" I suggested, and Monokuma whistled as if it didn't concern him, "Monokuma... You're pretty damned smart. Maybe the smartest AI to ever exist."

Monokuma chuckled, "Finally, you see the value in me! Not just smart, I'm also handsome, strong, and super agile! I beat this test myself, no problem!"

I grinned, holding my hand out and channeling all of my thoughts into one, praying to every God out there that this worked, "Then I could call you... the Ultimate Animatronic!"

A white shining aura enshrouded me, glowing ever so brightly. I felt my right eye heal, and my left eye turned a sinister red, the shape a lightning scar. My body felt much lighter, as if made out of special metallic design to minimize weight and air resistance. Hearing, smelling, and even my sense of gravity increased substantially.

Monokuma yelled, "What!? Hey, that's cheating! Just because I'm so awesome doesn't mean you can steal my thunder!"

"Oh, but isn't it great!?" My voice was even higher than before, and the paralysis in my body was gone. Was I part-synthetic now? Shepard can get out of my way, "Monokuma has programs to heal himself, too, right?" I noticed my kneecap wound had already healed, "This is a pretty useful form. Maybe I'll keep it."

Eighty feet left to go. No problem. I smirked with my own delighted glee. For once, I might have outsmarted that despair bastard.

Thirty, fort, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty. The difficult continued to increase, but even by 85, I had avoided taking a second hit. I felt exhilarated, and Mayu was cheering me on from above the entire way, as if she had lost herself in the moment.

That cute, cheerful expression on her face. That was why I was trying so hard. Anything to keep that smile where it rightfully belongs...

90, 91, 92, 93...

The last one was painfully close. I heard the arrow fly by my ear. Even with this newfound power, I was still on the verge of failure. Was I not maximizing the full power abided by this form? Was my power being interfered with?

"Kuma, you said you beat this yeah," I tried to control the shaking in my voice.

Monokuma nodded, "Affirmative! What, are you scared you're going to lose!?"

I had to do this. Let's go.

Thhk! One arrow found its way into my outstretched palm. The other whizzed by my neck. Thankfully, I had ducked on a whim. Grabbing the arrow I pulled it out. It was only 94. I was so damn close.

The turrets in front of me had green lights on the top right corner, and the stop buttons were labeled in big, black letters next to the chamber where arrows loaded into it.

So close, yet so far.

Just six more feet...

The next two arrows made their mark. One pierced my left side, staggering me instantly. The other, delayed by a second, dug into my right thigh. I slumped to the ground, resisting the urge to cry out in pain.

Mayu screamed my name, but the pain blocked that out. I was focusing on ripping the arrow from my thigh. The side arrow had pierced through, and luckily hit no major organs. It had went right between my ribs, though, and it hurt. I couldn't feel my side anymore, which was the only solace.

Monokuma laughed, "Oh, by the way! When I said I beat it, I got shot a lot!"

"What!?" I shouted back at him in disbelief.

Monokuma's eye shined in the dark night sky, "I can't die from arrow wounds unless they hit my processor! You're far fleshier than I, Ultimate talent or no. Did I forget to mention that?"

At that point, I almost blacked out. It was pointless. Four more rounds of this? With my body paralyzed, I wasn't sure I could handle it.

I stood up, "Not giving up now, right?" I took a step forward and clenched my teeth.

Both of my shoulders were hit, and I slumped to my knees again. 97, huh?

I was panting heavily, and with great difficulty, pulled both out of my shoulders with the opposite arm. The blood flowed. My earlier wounds had stopped bleeding, thanks to Monokuma's superb healing factor. That wouldn't work this time, likely.

Sustaining heavy damage like this, even in this form, would lead to permanent scarring and damage. My arms refused to move at all now, the paralysis poison flowing. It had less of an effect now, but my body could only handle so much before it slowed.

I damned myself for not training with my Sensei sooner. If I had only let Kun-San train me back in high school, I wouldn't be in this mess.

 _Then again, if he hadn't gone off to become the "Ultimate Cadaver", I wouldn't be in this mess right now. Or maybe I would._

No, blaming him isn't the answer right now. He was even the one to suggest the rings for my friends and I... I missed him dearly, the only other person I felt confident in calling family.

I felt my hands, the numbness beginning to fade. On them, I wore two rings. Mine, and Jun's. They were on both of my ring fingers to remind me of what I was there for.

I struggled to my feet, "Not beating me, Monokuma."

Step 98. Oh god, my legs. The arrows speared into my legs, right between the shin and kneecap. I fell to my feet, and this time, I knew I'd not be getting up.

Mayu demanded for Monokuma to let me go, but I didn't pay too much attention to that. He'd say no anyways.

I'd do this, dammit... Even if I had to crawl on my hands and knees, I'd go these last two feet!

In reality, the turrets were still a good twelve feet away, but Kuma had drawn a line just in front of me. In just two more feet, they'd stop firing.

Mayu yelling at me brought me back to my senses, "Shinji, stop! Go any further and it'll kill you!"

Struggling with every bit of strength I could muster, I rose back to my feet, my entire body shaking in pain and exhaustion, "But that would mean... Letting you die!" With a furious shout, I ran forward.

Thhk! Thhk!

The sound of arrows piercing through flesh rang aloud in the area. The oddest part is that I felt no pain. My eyes closed, my body stumbling forward, I wondered if it was death overcoming me.

I'm never that fortunate.

I finally opened my eyes to see Mayu in front of me, two arrows jutting from her back, as if she was a startled porcupine, "Ma...Mayu!"

Mayu smiled at me, that same stalwart grin whenever she tried pulling a strong front, "I understand, Shinji. You wish that... if I were to die today, that it be of my own choice," she stepped towards me and kissed me on my forehead before holding me tightly, "This time, I choose. I'll save you... Not a reaction, but me... The plain girl who loved you until the end..."

I held her head with my right hand and shook my head in disappointment, "How dare you... You've always been too humble," I kissed her on the lips, knowing this might be the last time, "If you intend to finish this, you win..."

 **Mayu's POV**

Shinji fell backwards onto his back. I checked his wounds to ensure the bleeding had stopped, and he was breathing, albeit with some difficulty.

Standing up, I glared at Monokuma, "Am I allowed to finish in his stead? It is equally my fault I got him involved."

Monokuma shrugged, "Go ahead, princess. It won't help you now."

I shrugged off his ominous warning and eyed the two turrets. The arrows it were firing were aluminum with steel-tips, maximizing penetration of uncovered flesh. As long as I avoided fatal wounds, I might get through this. The arrows in my back were definitely limiting my mobility, the paralysis spreading throughout my back.

Watching the paths the arrows took though, I had discovered a pattern of sorts. Monokuma had promised this was randomized, but I had my doubts. I banked my entire life on that one gut instinct.

The final step.

Thhk! Thhk!

 **Shizue's POV**

Watching the events unfold was too much for me to bear. The entire broadcast ended at 95 feet, the worst cliffhanger.

Izuru stepped down from the stands as Fuuko remained topside, "Our game has been spiced up sufficiently. Shinji's adaptations to my trap have done wonderfully.

I glared at him, "A trap? What did you do!?"

Izuru blankly stared back at me, as if he hadn't heard me, "Let's go collect the corpse, shall we?"

"What does that mean!?" Daisuke exclaimed, a vein bulging on the side of his head.

Fuuko interrupted, "The broadcast was on a delay. Someone's likely dead already."

With that grim comment, Izuru led us through a secret maintenance tunnel that led us all the way to the cut off area from what appeared to be the fourth zone.

The thirteen of us were all filled with apprehension at what we would find. Koneko, Shinju, Nari, Akihiko, Daisuke, Nico, Kibou, Satoshi, Kenji, Hanako, Granberia, Takumi and I entered the area one by one.

The fourteenth classmate, the survivor of that deal with the devil, was revealed to be...

Carrying the lost one.

Running ahead of the others, I furiously charged towards them, tears in my eyes. When I finally caught their attention, Shinji smiled back at me, "She... She left on her terms, alright..."

Shinji fell to his knees and he gently set Mayu down on the ground. With great reluctance, he slipped the ring off of her finger.

The Saccharine Manwhore. My First, True Love. And now, My Mature Beauty. Three of the rings he had made, one for himself, one for Jun, and one for Mayu, were now in his grasp. Before putting the first two back where they belonged, he handed Mayu's to me, "Hold on to it before I..." Shinji fell backwards, unconscious.

That was when Kiyo arrived, still wearing the classic Future Foundation getup, "Well, two losses in a row does not bode well."

Fuuko glared at him as she had been following us, "You dirty traitor! Stop working with those sick bastards!"

Kiyo shook his head, "I will maintain justice. Whatever it costs. Emotions have no place in saving the world."

The Ultimate DNA Manipulator walked up behind him, adjusting his glasses, "Kiyo is loyal to the cause, unlike you. That being said, you're still of some use."

Kenta stepped towards her, but Izuru intervened, "She's their responsibility, Kenta. Those are the rules."

Kenta grabbed Izuru by his hair and lifted him up with ease, "Oh, my boy. I've actually changed myself while you were out. You don't boss me around anymore. My study of Ultimates has finally led to my rebirth!" He pulled out a small syringe and forced it into Izuru's chest. He began gasping and coughing as he fell back, and before long, he had reverted to... Hajime Hinata.

Kenta kicked him to the side with a malicious grin, "I am the Ultimate Ultimate now." He grabbed Fuuko by her hair, lifted her off of the ground, and walked away with her in hand.

Kiyo saluted him as he walked past, and turned to face us, "Next time we meet... I'll finish you guys off once and for all."

Misery, who had been trailing behind the others, watched Kenta, Fuuko, Kiyo, and Monokuma vacate the area.

She slowly walked up to Mayu's body and an unconscious Shinji, "Shizue... Take care of Shinji. I have to... It is my job to get Mayu with the others..."

I glared at her, but felt no threat from her presence, "I don't trust you, not if you work with them."

"Nor did I expect you to," she replied in that familiar melancholic tone. Why was she so familiar to me? Why!?

Misery gently picked up Mayu and noticed the wounds in her chest, "The last arrows were fatal. Monokuma lied about the randomization. Don't trust that bear, for I fear it may have gone rogue."

Misery left us to deal with the aftermath.

In a way, her name made perfect sense, since it was all she had left in her wake.

"Hey," I looked up to see Kiyo, who had walked back, "Here," he tossed me something. It was a ring, "Takuro's. Maybe he wants that back, too." Kiyo walked off, leaving me even more confused about his supposed motives.

The rest of the night was a blur. Nico sent me to take Shinji to his room, inspect his wounds, and then stay the night with him. He went off and handled everyone else's buddies and assigning work to everyone. In Mayu's stead, Daisuke and Kibou would alternate making meals from now on, and would also work as each other's food testers, just to maximize safety.

Most of this was white noise to me. Mayu was dead, and I was instrumental in it.

I was unable to find my way to sleep, even after Monokuma's evening announcement. I just watched over Shinji, hoping that he'd awaken sooner rather than later. His wounds had been healed or patched up by me, but his mental state had to be a complete mess.

It was 11:30 when he began grumbling in his sleep. After a couple of minutes, he sat up in bed and noticed me sitting on the edge of his bed, "Shizue... You stayed with me, huh?"

I couldn't control myself, and I jumped onto him, holding him close, "Shinji! Don't scare me like that! I can't let you go!"

Shinji gently wiped away my tears and smiled back, "I'm here. I won't leave my sweetheart hanging now... Mayu gave her life for me, and... Well, you have her ring, right?"

I nodded and pulled it from my pocket, "Right where I left it. I know it must mean a lot to you."

Strangely enough, I felt a weird vibe coming from it, almost as if it had some power emanating from it. I slowly took the ring off of my palm and slid it on. What I felt was beyond what could have been expected.

I was there, with Mayu and Shinji. The button had been pressed, and Mayu had fallen to the ground. Shinji came running, despite his body screaming at him not to push himself.

Shinji kneeled down and picked up Mayu, careful to remove the four arrows from her back and chest. He tried to apply pressure, but he knew better. Just like with Takeshi, it was too late.

Mayu groaned in pain, and Shinji held her head up, "Mayu, please...no!"

With great strain on her part, Mayu smiled back at Shinji, "Don't fear... Your memories will... bring me solace... in the next life."

"Mayu!" Shinji screamed to himself, a well of water inside him turned on high. Even his newly functional eye was leaking like a sieve. His other eye had lost that red tint, and the lightning scar shape had faded. He must have lost his power when he got wounded that last time.

Mayu chuckled, writhing in pain immediately after for a brief moment, "Don't take pictures of me after I..."

Really, Mayu? A Corpse Party joke right now? Not the time.

She brushed his bangs out of his face and asked, "Before... Shinji... Can you... help? I want my last memory of you... to be your smile, like I fondly remember... Please...?"

Shinji wiped the tears out of his eyes, his voice cracking, "I'll do my best, Mayu..." Looking at her, he smiled and kissed her on her forehead, "I promise... I'll save the others," he managed to smile, even in this tragic scene.

Mayu's smile widened as she closed her eyes, and her head fell limp. But even then, Shinji kept that smile on his face as he lifted her up and rose to his feet, carrying her off, "The others... Need to say goodbye, too..."

A hand on my shoulder ended my trance-like state. Shinji was watching me, a curious expression on his face, "I made these rings... They were said to be blessed, in a way. Anyone you gave them to would live on forever..."

Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed the other ring, "Kiyo gave this to me, it's for you. Takuro's..."

Shinji slowly held it up before placing it on his left index finger, "Can I have Mayu's?"

I handed Mayu's to him, and he placed it on his right index finger, "They'll always be close to your heart, now..."

Shinji nodded, "That was the idea. If ever, I perish... Please..."

I patted him on the head for once, "I promise I'll protect them with my life. But that won't happen. I'll keep you alive, alright?"

"Just don't..." He wanted to say, don't kill for me. But he held his tongue, though whether he considered it was too soon or too high a demand, I couldn't determine.

I laid down at his side, forcing his head onto the pillow next to mine, "You've had too long a day... We both have. So please... Stay with me, tonight."

Shinji and I shared a single kiss before exhaustion overtook us both. The last thing I remember was his heartbeat, giving me some sense of security. The last thought in my mind before I too fell asleep was a simple one; let that be the end of our struggles.

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness. I'm working hard for that quality. Since this was the first case I'd ever designed, it felt too simple for me, so I hope the unconventional execution provided for any needed suspense. :3 This chapter hurt to write, and it only gets worse from here... *sigh* I hope you all enjoyed this second trial. The next ones are hopefully to be much trickier. :D**


	27. Chapter 3A: The Cold Shoulder Daily Life

**Author's Note: Chapter 3(A) has begun! You'll understand that soon enough. This chapter has dark content and hopefully, some surprises in store. I'll work my hardest to get the next chapter out! :D (After I recover emotionally from this one...)**

It was the dawn of the tenth day. I, Shinji Kizami, had survived nine days and watched four people I knew well die. The worst part about it all was waking up and expecting for it to happen all over again.

Hope, despair, it was all too damn philosophical with these people. The simple truth is they were forcing innocent people to die. Do the ends justify the means? Absolutely not.

Yet here we were, caught in the middle of it all. Now the Ultimate Babysitter, the Ultimate Butler, the Ultimate Survivor, and the Ultimate Archer were dead.

Everyone was already growing weary of this, but it was far from over. Hajime had been put into Takeshi's cottage until we could speak with him tomorrow. Kenta had revealed his trump card and betrayed Izuru, which meant he wasn't doing this to out the member of Despair. He was doing it because he's a fuck.

Kiyo seemed most likely for us to face off against next, and who knows what horrible threats Kenta may be using to coerce Fuuko to rejoin his team. What a cold, callous man. He views people as tools, and performing sick experiments. That bastard wanted to play God.

I'd do anything to watch him bleed.

 **Fuuko's POV**

Kenta had left me in the girl's quarters with Misery again. We started out together here, though she never said a word. The only survivor of the group of workers on this resort, we originally assumed she knew much about the member of Despair.

The bastard had disrupted her memories, though. Left her here on purpose to run the simulation machines, to keep the students alive. The only information Misery could offer was a small bit of video footage. In it, Shinju was attacked on security cameras by someone else. The footage cut to black after she succumbed to unconsciousness as her attacker choked her out.

The fucker attacked my sister.

Misery was the one who told us Shinju was the accomplice. Of course, my first assumption was that Shinji was the member of Despair. But after meeting him in person, and with knowing him... After what I did to him, even... I doubt that possibility now. If he forgot about Shinju, no way he corrupted her. But then, who?

The only other person she knew on record was Daisuke, but... Him? Could he be the member of Ultimate Despair, lurking in the shadows?

In hindsight, it could be possible. He was Yoshikazu's closest friend and love interest, and also tried to help Takeshi integrate into the group. The first two killers... Was there a connection there?

I argued for and against this in my head for a few moments before I got up. I had to talk to someone about these horrible feelings welling up inside me. Kiyo had a stick up his ass to the moon, and only ever took it out to beat someone with it. He was nothing more than a tool to Kenta, if he wasn't so blind to realize.

Hajime was powerless and in enemy hands, Kenta was a monster, and Monokuma was possibly going rogue, with no one to directly control him anymore. Oh, he obeyed Kenta, of course, but out of loyalty or self-interest?

That left only one option; Misery. Could we maybe betray Kenta and end the game prematurely? Was there something we could possibly do? At the very least, could she sympathize with me, someone who lost her sister and attacked an innocent bystander?

Would anyone accept... Tojiko Sakyubasu for who she is?

 **Chapter Three A-The Cold Shoulder**

 **DAILY LIFE**

 **Shinji's POV**

The morning announcement went off as expected, Monokuma sickening us with that smug, prick face. I nudged Shizue, who refused to give in to waking up, instead clinging even harder to my side while burying her head in the pillow next to my neck. I suppose there's no rush, right?

Then again, that kind of talk is basically why I made it late to school several times in my life. Better not do that here, I jokingly thought to myself. With a groan, I sat up and nudged Shizue again, "Shizue, come on. It's time for our morning meeting."

Shizue grumbled in her groggy state as she continued writhing under the covers, trying her best to ignore my reminders.

"Fine, then..." I smiled to myself before patting her on the shoulder, "Sleep tight." Nearly falling to the floor, I walked over to my closet and opened it up. Clothes, clothes. I'll go red shirt. That should hide bloodstains, right? _Wow, me, dark. Speaking of which, blood is pink in this universe, but it's specifically been called red. The hell is that? Was my shirt red or pink? Good luck figuring that out._

With my salmon pink shirt on, I pulled my sweatshirt hoodie over my head and felt the heat from the tight snugness of the cloth already warming me up from the chilly night air. I turned the fan off and unplugged it, otherwise I'd be chastised for wasting power.

Taking one last wistful look at Shizue, I chuckled to myself at how cute she was and opened the door, closing it behind me ever so gently.

Thirteen of us gathered in the cafeteria. Daisuke waved to me as he grilled our bacon, "Morning, Shinji. Hanako showed me some Western cuisine from a book, so I'm trying this out. Any requests?" When I said no, he replied, "Alright, man. Take a seat."

I found a seat for myself in between Nari and Granberia. Nari was getting handsy with Koneko again, who was purring despite her protests. Nari had grown addicted to the softness of Koneko's ears and tail, and was always touching them without even knowing.

Granberia smiled when I arrived, "Shinji. Good. Stay social."

I patted her on the head, rubbing her hair the way she liked, "I'm not locking myself away. You guys need me in these rough times, too."

She closed her eyes, content as she huddled closer to me, not making a sound. What a dork.

Speaking of dorks, Kenji was across from me, Hanako sitting next to him, "Hey, Shinji. Glad you're here. Everyone's real quiet right now, it's awkward." Kenji motioned towards the others walking towards us.

Satoshi, Kibou, and Nico joined Kenji's left side, while Akihiko sat on the right of Hanako, "Squeezing in here."

Satoshi frowned, "Shame we can all fit at one table, now."

Kenji, who was scrunched up next to Hanako, glared at him, "Fit being an optional word."

"Where's Shizue?" Nico asked, "Shinji, she went with you, right?"

I nodded, "Shizue was out, man. She didn't even want to get up," I chuckled, "Threw pillows at me and everything."

"I did not," Shizue was behind me, dressed in a school uniform just like Nari's she had sewn in her down time, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes to no avail.

I laughed a bit, scooting over with Granberia so Shizue could sit next to me, "Oh, I'm just teasing you."

Kenji leaned in towards me, "Is she coercing you to stay quiet? Do you need help? Blink twice if you're a captive."

Akihiko interceded with a quick quip, "Keep your fantasies to yourself and Hanako."

Hanako blushed, and Kenji glared at Akihiko, "Why'd you include her?"

Akihiko smirked, "Oh, Master, I am a very clumsy maid." He said it in a faux girly tone.

Kenji's eyes widened, and he turned to Hanako, "You _were_ too loud!"

"Just going to pretend I didn't hear any of that," Satoshi cringed, "Hey, Aki, you... Are you feeling better?"

Akihiko thought on it for a bit and nodded, "Yeah, took a while. She'd want us to move on."

I asked Nico, "Hey, um... Did anyone check up on Hajime this morning?"

As if on cue, Takumi walked up, "Sup, Shinji. Nice to see you," I reluctantly fist bumped him as he walked past me, "Nico, he's... Well, he's unconscious, still, but he's breathing fine. He ate his food, though, so he was awake earlier. Probably just really exhausted, after all. I left the door unlocked, just in case he wants to get out and about."

He glanced at me when he said that, probably still guilty over letting Fuuko out, "Relax, Takumi It's to be forgiven," I winked, "My eye works again now, anyways."

"If it wasn't for our abilities, you'd have lost it for good, though," Takumi sighed, "I hate being a burden..."

Shinju, who was the last to join us, finally arrived, looking a bit exhausted, "Sorry for being late. I slept in again."

I smiled and waved to her, "No worries, Shinju. We'd have waited for you."

Shinju smiled back at me before sitting next to Koneko and Nari, "Are you done molesting her yet?"

Nari looked up at her, Koneko snugly purring into her lap, "I made her fall asleep. My little neko girl can't be this cute..." She smirked, "Watch out, Shinju. You have competition."

Shinju joked, "Shinji, you hear that? We're being ousted."

"Damn, it's hard to compete with Koneko-chan, though. She's so precious," I played along, "What tragedy it is to compete against her!"

"Sorry to ruin this adorable moment," Koneko woke up, and we all focused on Monokuma, who had arrived unwanted and undetected, "Just reminding you dolts there's a new area, but unlike before, it has rules."

Nico rose and got between us and Monokuma, "I represent this group, still. What rules, bear?"

Monokuma sighed, "So distrusting. The rule is only seven of you can go into either side. The next area was split in half based on their environments. So you guys have to split up."

"And if we rightfully refuse?" Nico glared at him, defying him outright.

"Then you'll never reach the top of this mountain and forever be stuck here!" he laughed as the hope disappeared from our faces, "So, the question is this: Do you prefer to be hot or cold?"

I was already standing next to him, "Cold. Cold, cold, cold. Wait, is this reverse psychology where you lie to me?"

Monokuma held out his paw, "I solemnly swear to not lie on this one instance."

"Going cold," I reaffirmed my choice, "Heat blows."

Kenji walked to Monokuma's other side, "Hot for me."

Hanako slowly walked over to Kenji's side, "Hot. I freeze too easily," She would, considering her smaller frame.

Granberia joined Kenji's side, "Same."

Nari laughed at her as she walked next to me, "Not enough fat on your body to survive the cold, huh?"

"Quiet, udders," Granberia spat back, mostly teasing, "Got milk?"

Nico joined Kenji's side as well, "Shinji, I'm appointing you as leader of that group, understood?"

Nari intervened, "Why him? I'm just as capable. I specialize in leadership qualities." Nari began pouting at him, and refused to stop.

Nico rolled his eyes, "Whatever works, just keep them together."

The second he relented, Nari cheered, "Thank you, Nico! I won't let you down! I'll keep them all safe!" She gave him a wink and a thumbs up, but he just sighed, sweat coagulating on his forehead.

Takumi struggled with the decision for a bit before joining my side, "My hair gets all frizzy in the heat. Gotta look good, right?"

"You're choosing because of that?" Nari said, already done with Takumi's crap.

Takumi smiled broadly, showing off his pearly white teeth, "Look good, feel good!"

Satoshi and Kibou discussed with each other their own preferences before joining the hot side. Soon the others chose, and we were left with two teams.

Team A, the Cold side, led by Nari, along with Shinju, Shizue, Daisuke, Takumi, Koneko, and myself. Team B, the Hot side, consisted of Nico, Satoshi, Kibou, Akihiko, Granberia, Kenji, and Hanako.

The fourteen of us were led by Monokuma up to the stairs in the second area. We ascended the stairs before reaching the entrance to the third area, where a blue door and a red door awaited us.

Monokuma chuckled, "Do you want the red door, or the blue one!?"

"Enough Matrix jokes," Kenji pushed him out of the way and pulled open the red door, leading into an area filled with pipes and steam, "Looks warm and inviting."

Nari walked up and opened the blue door, leading to similar pipes, though they had snow under them and she breathed into the hallway, her breath clearly visible due to the cold temperatures, "Didn't think you meant _this_ cold..."

With that, we split up and headed inside. Before I went in, I hugged Granberia, "Don't forget your promise, Granberry. Stay safe."

Granberia nodded, "You keep the others alive, too. Don't make me cry."

"I'll make you proud, Granberia," I kissed her briefly before she went after her group, and I made my way into the Cold Zone.

Cold Zone. That was being loose with the term Cold. More like Freezing, if anything.

We opened that door to a frozen wonderland. There were three hallways. One said above it, Dorm Rooms. The second, to the left, said, Freezer. The third, to the right, said Laboratory A.

Nari commanded us, "Split up, groups of three. Shinju and Shizue, investigate the freezer. Takumi and Daisuke, investigate the lab. Koneko, Shinji, you're with me. We're checking out the dorms."

"Understood," Daisuke grabbed a shivering Takumi's collar and pulled him to his feet, and two marched down the right hallway.

Shinju and Shizue nodded to each other and walked down to the freezer, and Nari, Koneko, and I headed down the middle hallway.

We scouted out a door on the other side and walked to it, but it was bolted and locked. Next to it was a keycard scanner, and the number 5 next to it.

"What does that mean?" Koneko asked, her head tilted as she sniffed towards it, "Hey, Fuuko was here."

Nari gave her a shocked expression before shaking it off, "Well, okay then. Monokuma will probably tell us what it does."

Monokuma appeared suddenly, earning a scream from Nari as she jumped back away from him, "That's right!"

Shinji caught Nari in his arms cartoon style, scowling, "What do you want, bear?"

"You found this faster than the others!" Monokuma tried to make us feel good about it, "The five is how many people can leave. If five of you scan your handbooks in a row, those five will be locked into the system! Then you can leave any time you want."

"What about the other two?" Koneko slowly asked, hesitating to know his answer.

A close up of Monokuma's red eye as he happily explained, "Death. The last two will be executed."

Nari jumped to her feet out of my hands, "Well, then we won't do that! How else can we leave!?"

Monokuma smirked, "Well, the only way for you to leave is for someone to commit a murder. And I mean homicide, not suicide. No sacrifices like that will help you now, Shinji! Until then, you are all locked in here... Forever."

Nari scoffed, "Tch, whatever, bear. We'll find ourselves an alternative way out, alright? Now get out of our hair."

The bear just shrugged before disappearing again without a moment's notice.

"I have a bad feeling..." Koneko admitted, "If the others have been told the same..."

Nari confidently replied, "Nico will keep them in control. If anyone can, it's him. Anyways, let's check out the actual rooms."

There were nine rooms total, five on the right and four on the left. There were electronic locks on the doors, though only two were active, at each end, "Meant for all of us..." I commented, "Whoever built this place built it for us, certainly."

Koneko folded her arms, the fur pushing together under her forearms, "The others aren't locked. I guess they're meant for us."

Each one had a name on it. On the left side, the names starting from closest to the entrance; Shizue, Daisuke, Shinju, and Mayumi. On the right side closest to the entrance, the order was Takumi, Nari, Koneko, Shinji and Yoshikazu.

While none of them seemed electronically locked by the bolts, there were handbook scanners next to each. A ding came from our handbooks, and I opened mine.

Update: Your dorm rooms are electronically locked. Once you leave your room, they lock automatically. Only your handbook opens yours, so remember to bring it with you, dumbass! These doors will automatically lock if a murder occurs to ensure the killer an alibi. The doors will unlock one hour after the murder occurs, so use your time wisely.

A smaller message was fitted in at the bottom; I'm your enemy here again. Sorry for this, from Fuuko.

"Well, Kenta wasted no time putting her on the front lines again," I snidely called him out for his own cowardly nature, "He must be afraid of losing, hm?"

Nari put hers back in her pocket, "Ignore it for now. Shinji, open your door. I'd like to see yours first to note any differences between each gender's room."

Shrugging, I ran my handbook through the scanner, and the door clicked open. We stepped inside and were awed immediately.

Linen sheets made of satin, beautiful velvet carpeting, a huge air conditioner, and a vent shaft at the back, where cold air was flowing in. A fully vented first class room. Why would I not love this!?

There was another room; a bathroom. Inside was a bathtub, a medicine cabinet with a sink, a shower head, and a second vent shaft. The room was cool, with our breath appearing on the mirror the medicine cabinet had.

"Cold, but beautiful as all hell," The tiled floors were green and blue, woven together into a teal pattern on the floor. I was impressed beyond belief.

Koneko chuckled, "Sounds like Nari," Nari glared at her, but Koneko just kept up that cheerful smile, "Oh, come on, didn't you say I'm your favorite pu-" Nari covered her mouth with her hand.

"And that's enough out of you," Nari murmured, "Let's check out my room, ahaha."

Inside Nari's room, the floor was much the same as my room. The difference was the computer in the corner. Nari ran over to investigate, and found a plethora of her favorite games, and titles not even released publicly yet.

"What's this?" Koneko picked a box off of the floor, "...Paradox, huh? The full set?"

Nari was already ripping the box out of her hands, reading the back of the box, "Are you... Oh, fuck yes! I...I'm never going to leave my room..."

I walked over to her and took a rag out of my pocket, wiping her face, "Stop drooling, derp. We still have a bathroom to check, too."

Nari frowned, but she set the box aside and we walked past the vent to the door, opening it up. The inside was mostly the same as mine, again, except for a pink floor. Nari sighed, "Man, this place is kind of kickass."

Koneko began rummaging through a box in the corner, "A waterproof vibrator? What's this for?"

Nari grabbed Koneko by the scruffy fur on the back of her neck and led her out of the room. I followed suit, and she slammed the door behind her, the lock taking effect, "No more naughty nekos in my room without my permission."

"Oh, I dunno, Nari. You could have explained to Koneko about the stuff in there. Take a shower, maybe come clean," If looks could kill, hers would be striking me down, "Jokes aside, fine, your room is nice. Let's check Koneko's next, just in case."

Entering Koneko's room, we were greeted with a cozy environment. A giant cat bed...? There were toys hanging from the sides of the room to be swatted at, and the bathroom was just like ours, but goldenrod tiles instead of pink or teal.

Closing her door behind us, she asked, "So, we checked the rooms. Each one is specially designed for all of us, anything else?"

Nari pondered this for a bit, "No idea. Let's go check the lab group. If they came across anything deadly, we'd want to know."

As we made our way to the laboratory, the door opened, and Takumi and Daisuke came out, one shivering and the other laughing, "God, Takumi! How stupid can you be!?"

"What did he do this time?" Nari asked, already annoyed.

Daisuke stopped laughing after a bit, "So we found some experimental stuff. Nothing too dangerous. Heat-regulating sleeping bags. Ice cream that won't freeze. This idiot just takes a big handful of it, brain freeze. Thought that's what it meant."

"Shut up, man! It was delicious!" Takumi said, his hand visibly frostbitten, "Anyways, I need like, a heater."

Nari sighed, shaking her head, "Go check out your rooms. They should be fine. We're going inside to confirm your report, okay?"

Daisuke nodded, and he and Takumi walked past us towards their rooms.

With hesitation, I took point and pushed the large metal door open. Inside the room was ice covering the floors and ceiling. Nothing unexpected. There were some sleeping bags nearby, and when I touched them, they felt like room temperature. They were plugged into the nearby wall outlet, which had been covered by a small plastic case to avoid freezing over.

As Takumi said, there were some kinds of ice cream, each a different flavor, and none were frozen in that disgusting way, "Looks good." Nari glanced at me intensely, "I'm not gonna scoop it up!" Probably.

Koneko pointed to the corners, "Cameras, guys. To monitor the products, maybe?"

"Or us," Nari reconsidered, "Either way, the only other thing in here are... these," She opened up a large black toolbox, and inside were tools. Despite the temperature of the room, the tools were warm, "Guess this toolbox is heat-regulating too."

"Nice, we could fix stuff if it breaks." I wasn't keen on me doing it, though. No hands on skills, myself.

I looked over at the metal shelving on the back and eyed some of the chemicals. Antifreeze, diethyl ether, and other miscellaneous products were on the shelves. I spotted a standout green and blue bottle, but decided it would be best not to play around with chemicals.

Nari closed it up and the three of us left the room, having found nothing of interest. We all headed towards the freezer, now intent on discovering whatever that group was doing now.

We stepped inside, and Shinju and Shizue were inspecting large crates filled with ice cream and other frozen goods, "Oh, hey, guys. We didn't find anything of note." Shinju reported in, eager to do her part. Must have still felt guilty about that whole associate thing.

Shizue looked around one last time, "Camera in the corner. There are meat hooks, be extremely careful. We shoved them into the corner, but they're hung up and way too heavy," True to her words, four large meat hooks were lined on moving racks hooked to a metal railing that allowed you to slide them around.

"There was nothing else of note," She sighed, wiping off some ice off of her uniform, "Sorry, Nari. I'll dry clean this later."

Nari shrugged, "No worries, glad you liked it."

The five of us left together and found the others. Just then, an announcement came on.

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma was on the monitor above our dorms,"Gooooood evening, everyone! It is now 10 PM. Nothing will be locked off in these areas, but it is now night time. Remember to sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

He faded into static, leaving us alone in the hallway. We all looked at each other, "So buddy system or-" I got cut off immediately.

"I'm with Koneko," Nari claimed her neko and pulled her into her room. Shizue shrugged and walked in after them.

I grabbed Shinju's hand, "I'll stay the night with you, Shinju."

"Bro's night!" Takumi grabbed Daisuke and opened his room, "Men must bond the only way they were meant to!"

Daisuke tried to voice an objection, but it was drowned out by the excited yelps Takumi let out as he closed the door behind him.

Deciding I wanted to see Shinju's room, she opened up her door and we stepped inside. Very similar to ours, though she had stacks of notebook to write in, "Ah, nice..." There was a computer, and it was overloaded with music, every genre, everything you could want, any language. Holy Buddha!

I grabbed one of the notebooks and looked inside of it. They all had a violet rose in the right corner of each page, with the initials S.S. on them, "Made especially for you, Shinju, they're cute." The back of them had more lines for writing, and cats playing in the background on the upper left corner.

Shinju walked towards me and placed her arms around me, "Shinji... It's been forever since we last spent time like this, together," she lead me to her bed, and slid onto it with a confident smirk, "Let's just enjoy our time together."

I nodded, blushing like crazy, "U-uh... Sure."

 **Monokuma Theater 9#**

Monokuma appeared before us on stage once more, "Two groups, excited huh!? Why this? Well... Kenta thought their numbers were too damn high! So we're culling them by four this time! Exciting, huh!? Yes, so... The second group has the same rules applied, and all different locations! Cool, right!? Yes, yes, this is why they call me the most innovative bear in Despair history!"

Monokuma clapped his hands together, "Anyways, this will be fun! One week, including today. If they're not saved by then, well..."

Monokuma waved us goodbye, and the stage disappeared before our very eyes, and was followed up with something traditional and expected.

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma was on a monitor that also functioned as a television, a flat screen across from my bed, "Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Not that any of you can enjoy it! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

Day two in this frozen wonderland began as any other day did in this new area. Insanely comfortable, I awoke to the sound of Shinju's alarm clock and hit it. Shinju had already gotten up, "Hey, Shinji! Take a shower."

I shrugged and stepped into the bathroom. The entire room was steamy and Shinju was inside, "Well, what are you waiting for?" She peeked her head out on the side, "Huh?"

I looked away, nervous, "Well, I mean... You're..."

Shinju laughed as she opened the door all the way and stepped out, dripping wet, "Are you kidding, you've seen me naked before." She grabbed me despite my weak protests, and we showered together.

The two of us joined the other five at a table area in the lounge. It had a fridge and a small oven, our only solace here for normality. We all had smaller mini fridges in our rooms, delightfully cold and filled automatically by Monokuma.

I sat down, immediately wincing in pain.

Koneko asked, "Shinji, are you okay?" She rushed to my side and felt the bump on my head, "Oh, dear..."

"I fell in the shower and hurt myself," I groaned, "Never again."

Nari laughed at that, "You'll have to shower again, silly."

I sighed, "Didn't mean that."

Shinju sat next to me, slowly resting her back against the wall, "Oh, my aching back..."

Nari continued snickering to herself, but didn't say another word. Daisuke asked, "So, any ideas on how to leave?"

Nari, Koneko, and I glanced at each other in unison, "Well, there is one way, but... It's essentially someone killing someone else. No suicide," I didn't tell the whole truth, but enough to get the point across.

Daisuke's smile dropped the second I mentioned murder, "So we're essentially stuck here for eternity?"

Nari nodded, "Maybe the other group will find a way out. For us, the only way out is that door down there. Only five of us can leave. The other two'd be killed, instantly."

"So unless we sacrifice two people-" Takumi started.

"Absolutely not," Koneko interrupted him, "We will not play my brother's game."

Daisuke thought on that for a moment, "You really hate him, huh?" Koneko nodded, "I can see why. He gave us these damn abilities and let us suffer. Ended the world. Prick..."

Koneko angrily hissed at the thought of him, "Ugh... I need to... Just do something. Why are we crammed in here!?"

Monokuma answered in his unusually happy tone, "Don't like it? Just murder!"

"Fuck off, bear!" Koneko screamed at him.

If a robotic bear could be afraid, it was now, "O-okay!" He disappeared like he always did, leaving us in an awkward silence.

"Damn, girl, you're awesome!" Daisuke commented, laughing, "Finally, someone stands up to that filthy despair-rection having freak."

Koneko's ears perked up, "You mean it!?"

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah, that was cool."

"If we have nothing more to discuss together," I began, "I'll make us food. Daisuke, help me, yeah?" He nodded, and we set out to make everyone breakfast.

After that, Shizue and I decided to inspect the chemicals in the lab to ensure if they were safe or not. We stepped inside the cold room. There was a sudden chill running down my spine, not from the cold. I just... had a bad feeling, and I didn't understand why.

Then I realized what it was. In the back of the room, there was a wall. It was shaded differently from the rest of the wall. I leaned forward and pushed, and it gave way. Behind the secret door was a hallway, not as frozen.

Shizue jumped in front of me, "Calm down, Shinji. I'll take point. I can hear you freaking out right now."

"I-I am not!" I said, my voice cracking like puberty had struck again. She raised her left eyebrow at me, and I gave in. Following her closely, we entered into another dark room. I felt the light switch on the wall and hit it. A loud "Yaaaaas" echoed through the room, and in front of us was twenty-two racks. Five had green lights next to them.

Shizue came closer, and screamed, falling to the floor. I ran past her and read what she did, "Mayumi Okishima, Ultimate Archer. Takeshi, Ultimate Survivor. Yoshikazu, Ultimate Butler. Emiko, Ultimate Babysitter. Worst of all, the next fourteen each had places for my friends and I. This was...so fucked up.

At the very end, in slot 19, I found another one. Former Protagonist, Ultimate Cadaver. Kairu Kun... Damn it, Kun-Sama! If he were still alive... Wait, they have his corpse? According to his chart here, he fell into a damned wood chipper!

I pulled out the tray and Kairu's body was covered in cuts but miraculously still whole. Is this the power of the Ultimate Cadaver!? Almost sick to my stomach, I pushed him back in, "Well, I knew that guy. Damn it all. I thought he was kidding about becoming the Ultimate Cadaver!"

"Let's just...go," Shizue was mortified (I mentally smacked myself for that one), so the two of us left the room as hastily as we could.

Closing it off, I asked, "Do we tell the others?"

Shizue shook her head, "Rather not, let's just check the chemicals and get on out of here."

I nodded, "Understood, my dear Shizue," I kissed her lightly on the cheek, "No worries."

We walked over and investigated the chemicals. Most of them were normal, until I grabbed the green and blue bottle from before, CHCL3. Why does that sound familiar?

"Oh, no... Chloroform," Shizue said, reminding me instantly. That's not good at all.

I picked it up and hid it behind all of the other reagents and chemicals, "We tell no one. We can't dispose of it, though. Might count as 'dumping stuff'. Damned rules..."

Our handbooks beeped, and sure enough, it did count.

With that, we observed the rest of the chemicals, found nothing notable, and headed off to spend our time some other way.

The fact that we all faced was that most of the things we could do involved being in a room together. Shinju and Shizue wrote poetry together, Takumi and Daisuke trained in Daisuke's room, and Nari coerced Koneko and I to play her new game with her. Some things can't be unseen.

Later that evening, we gathered for Daisuke to make us dinner,. Shizue taste-tested it for us to ensure the food was safe, and Shinju joined us late, handing a notebook to Takumi, "Here, you wanted a copy of my works, right?"

"Really, Takumi? Poetry?" Nari didn't mean to sound rude, just curious.

Takumi nodded, "I've been trying to learn to be more... Expressive. Shinju suggested I try my hand at poetry. Why not? I'm comfortable in my masculinity."

For once, he had a fair point, "Well, it's good to experience new things," Nari grinned back at me, "If you make anything special, I'd love to see it."

Takumi held the notebook at his side and began crying, "Wha... Shinji... I just..." He hugged me, something he never had really done before, "I love you so much, man! You've supported me since you got here, and I... I appreciate it so... much!"

Well, that took a turn, "No problem, Takumi." I pried him off of me, "Don't break my spine, now."

"Seriously, bro, you ever need anything, just ask," he assured me, "I really do owe you one."

"Sure thing, I guess?" I was still confused by that attitude shift, but in the end, Takumi was just feeling upbeat again. His spirit hadn't been broken, thankfully. He had started off as an annoying side gag, but he was finally starting to mature.

I had to save my friends somehow.

Watching Daisuke tease Takumi over his crying, it reminded me how much they all meant to me. I can't let any of them die! No more...!

 _That's what I used to think, nevertheless._

Ah... I grabbed my head, aching in pain from a sudden migraine, "Uh... My head hurts..."

What was that?

Shinju came to my side, touching her hand to my forehead, "You have a fever. We should get you in bed before you get worse."

I nodded, a drowsy spell overcoming me, "Sure thing..."

I went to bed early on day two, so early I missed the announcement, thankfully.

 **Monokuma Theater 10#**

The stage popped up again, and Monokuma asked, "Man, this is about the halfway point, maybe. Damn, but we've come far together. Through this chapter, of course. No way are we even close to the story being done. But isn't that great news!? You guys get to suffer endlessly!"

The audience didn't cheer, leaving an awkward silence sitting.

"Oh, guess some of you want an ending now, huh? Unless you want me to kill everyone, though, be patient!" Monokuma grinned, "Just kidding. The despair train won't rush for no one! I will say, I've been surprised by the turns and twists we've endured. Makes me wonder what the future Blackened will have in store for us!"

With that, Monokuma ended his little show.

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma showed up once more on that monitor across from my bed, "Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Not that any of you can enjoy it! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

And with that timely announcement, my eyes opened, and day three had begun.

I wasn't feeling so ill anymore, so I guess the human equivalent of turning it off and on again worked out. Koneko was curled up next to me on one side, Nari on the other. They'd decided to keep me warm during the night, and Shinju had stayed with Shizue.

Takumi and Daisuke had celebrated another guy's night, training however they saw fit in Daisuke's room, which had some fitness equipment.

The seven of us gathered once again in the lounge. I felt a bit colder than yesterday, but paid it no mind for now. I was glad to see the others, that no one had been slain.

For once, I was holding out hope that we could survive this. _What a foolish notion._

My headache returned, nowhere as intense as yesterday. Damn, was despair setting in my heart? No, I had to fight, to resist.

"I just realized how fucked Hajime might be..." I said what I thought aloud, "Takumi, you left his room unlocked, right?"

Takumi nodded, "Yeah, great idea now, huh? I'm surprised."

Nari proceeded to do something I'd never think she'd do, "Thanks, Takumi. I'm glad you made that decision."

Daisuke's jaw dropped, "Whoa, take it back a second. Tsun mountain just admitted she was wrong?"

"I feel like I'm wrong pretty often, actually," Nari calmly admitted, "I'm insecure, I know that. But Takumi made a good judgment call, and he deserves to be praised for it."

Shizue smiled to herself, "Progress, how about that..."

Nari blushed as she diverted the conversation, "Any updates? Has Monokuma showed up? Any discoveries?"

Monokuma appeared as if on cue, "Actually, I haven't. Until now. Is now a bad time?"

"What do you want?" Koneko's tone was accusatory and ruthless in its ferocity directed at the bear.

"Oh, just a motive. Nothing too important," We gasped, but Monokuma moved on, "You may have noticed it's getting colder. Right? Right. That's purposeful. If you guys don't kill someone by the morning of day seven, the temperature will have dropped to about...sixty below. Celsius, by the way."

...Well, that's a death sentence if there ever was one.

"I'd rather die than give in to you," Koneko replied back, glaring at Monokuma as strongly as before, "Your motive means little."

Takumi argued, "Uh, so we just choose to die? We made it this far! Would the others want us to give up and die now?"

Shizue countered him, "Would the others want us to sink to their level to do so?"

"The right to life or the right to be loyal," Shinju said, almost inaudible, "Mayu and Shinji have shown us the right choice, haven't they?"

Daisuke intervened, "Well, yeah, but this isn't the same. If we just stick our feet into the ground-"

Koneko jumped up, "Then kill me! Right here, right now! Do it!"

"Koneko, you don't have to-" She cut me off.

"No! I... I will not LIVE to see one of you betray me again..." Koneko clenched her fists as hard as she could, tears freely flowing, "I will NOT stand by... and let you do this... So either kill me, right now, and die for our freedom... Or shut the hell up."

Daisuke was taken aback, "Koneko... I, I didn't mean to..."

Koneko continued crying, unable to control her emotions anymore, "I...My drawing. I already lost Emiko and Kaz... Mayu was... She meant so much to Shizue and I... And you want me to watch someone I love do that again!? How much do we have to sacrifice!?"

I was truthfully on the verge of tears myself. I didn't want to do this any more than she did.

Nari shook her head, "Koneko... If you're that adamant about it..."

"You'll... promise not to do anything stupid?" She asked her beloved Nari, whom she put so much faith in.

"Then I'll do it," she replied, the emotion in her voice one of sorrow, "I'll... become the Blackened. To save the others, I..."

Shinju interjected, "How about no way in hell!? We are not succumbing under any circumstances. Understood?" Neither Nari nor Koneko spoke, "Huh!?"

Shizue asked me, "What do you think, Shinju? Would you sacrifice two of us to save the group?"

Really, you're going to ask me that? After all that's happened?

"You know my answer already," I replied as decisively as I could muster, "We're better off all dying together than moving on blood stained floors. This isn't about betraying the others to live anymore. It's dying for our values."

Nari turned to me, herself in tears, "So you want us to die? You fought so hard to keep us alive... And you just want to give up...?"

"I don't want to give up, I want a better solution than watching my friends kill each other!" I yelled back, "So stop freaking out and-"

The slap was expected. The intensity was not, as I was knocked to the floor.

Nari pulled back her hand slowly, in a daze, as if she had acted out of no conscious thought, "I... Why..." she held her hand, now a shade of red from the impact, "How... How am I supposed to watch everyone I love die!?"

Shizue stepped forward, "Nari, please calm down and-"

"I already lost Emiko... Mayu, she... She was teaching me how to cook... I was going to... To help her make food in the mornings..." Nari had completely broken down at this point, "Koneko, Shinju...Shizue, Shinji... How can you... Ask me to watch you die!? Haven't I lost enough!? Haven't I...changed enough? Or was it all pointless!?" She fell to the floor, unable to form complete sentences anymore, bawling into the floor. We were helpless; what could we do?

None of us could answer her, not in a way that would satisfy her. Monokuma was gone, but the damage had been done, and it was irreversible.

We had come so far, so was it really okay to allow ourselves to get Linkin Punk'd? In the end, it didn't really matter?

To try and get over the dark cloud consuming us, Daisuke and Takumi were in my room, having a guy's night. That being said, Takumi suggested Yahtzee, and he was the saltiest player that ever did play.

"Yahtzee!" Daisuke declared, for the third time in a row.

Takumi flipped the table, board and all, "For fuck's sake! Hacks! Haaacks!"

Daisuke laughed it off, "I was born under a lucky star, man. Friday the Fourth of April, man. Fourth child in my family. 4, 4, 4. Death's given me some advantages, you know?"

"Isn't that like, the opposite of good luck?" I asked. 4 or shi, was death.

"Way I see it..." Daisuke laid down on his back, right leg folded over his left knee, "As long as we're alive, we can count ourselves lucky. No matter what happens... We survived it."

Takumi shrugged, "I mean, I guess that's true. I don't feel like a survivor though. More like an observer."

Daisuke laughed, "Yeah, well, never said it's always interesting. We just need to hold our heads high, grin and bear it. No giving up."

I once heard something similar to this, from two others. Kun-Sama, but even before him... When I confessed to Jun...

December 17th, I remember it clearly. My friend Takuro had subtly suggested that she liked me, and he had encouraged the both of us to spend the day after school together, so the two of us went out to an old children's playground. Mostly made of wood, some swings, and a great place to suck at parkour.

We were together late that night, and decided we'd take a walk. We eventually found our way at the docks, and after one of the most awkward moments in my life... We had confessed to each other.

That felt like eons ago now. This nostalgia, why was it so strong? I looked down at my hand, and on my ring finger, Jun's beautiful golden gift shined in the light. Always by my side, right?

"Aw, shit, ran out of paper to keep score," Takumi grumbled, "Hell. Be right back."

Daisuke turned to me as he left the room, "He just jinxed himself. Horror movie, he dead."

Takumi came back carrying a small notebook, "Shinju hooked me up. Let's go!"

I sighed, "I guess, Takumi. Whatever works."

Takumi quickly sat down cross-legged, "Shinji, you been extra quiet as of late. Is there some kind of problem?"

Daisuke stared at him, "Are you retarded? Of course he's in a foul mood. You know, 'cause four of his girlfriends are gonna die unless someone gets axed."

"Daisuke!" I struck him with my harsh words, "The hell is wrong with you?"

"It's the truth, Shinji. Unless one of us kills somebody, we're all going to die," Daisuke crossed his arms, "Consider how I feel. Shinju's like a sister to me, and you and Takumi are like brothers to me at this point. And all I can do is lay down and die."

Takumi seemed heartbroken as he looked between the two of us, "If I could just off myself-"

I stopped him there, "Don't even think about it. Suicide's off the table," I reminded him of Monokuma's specification, "Unless you killed someone else first. Besides, your sacrifice would only delay the inevitable."

Takumi sighed, but he slowly nodded, "Yeah... You're right."

After two more rage-inducing rounds of Yahtzee, we decided to end the games for the night. Daisuke and Takumi went to the latter's room to hang out.

That night, I stayed with Koneko. She was quiet for a long while, so the two of us just sat in awkward silence on her bed, "Hey..." I tried to think of something to say.

Koneko scooted closer to me and hugged me, "Shinji... Do you think Nari's right? Wouldn't it be better if..."

Putting my head on hers, I whispered, "I'd rather no one die, Koneko. I agree with you there. But what she said... Well, this kind of decision isn't easy."

Koneko didn't say anything more, and eventually curled up near the pillow, sleeping gently, her body moving only when she inhaled or her ears twitched as cold air flowed in from the air conditioner.

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma was on my television again,"Gooooood evening, everyone! It is now 10 PM. Nothing will be locked off in these areas, but it is now night time. Remember to sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

The television flickered off again, and I ruminated on the idea of exploring. I felt trapped in the room for some reason, probably due to how cold it had become. I placed a small blanket over Koneko and quietly opened the door, her handbook in hand so I could get back inside.

I headed into the frozen lab again, looking for anything, anything that could be useful. Maybe a tool could be used to break the door at the end of the hall? I opened the tool kit, knowing that if I tried that, I'd be executed for property damage. I did notice one thing, however; the flat head screwdriver was missing.

I stepped outside of the lab only to nearly scream my vocal cords raw. Koneko placed her finger over my mouth to try and quiet me down, "It's just me, silly. Don't think I didn't hear you leave."

"Oh, yeah, just wanted to take a walk," I replied, scratching the back of my head, "Sorry I borrowed your handbook without asking."

I handed it back to her, but she narrowed her eyes at me, "Were you planning anything out here?"

"Like what?" Was she accusing me of stufflez? (Stufflez is a word I use for stuff when I feel like being sassy.)

Koneko continued looking into my eyes for a moment before relenting, "Fine, fine. Let's go back to our room, okay? It's eerily quiet out here."

The two of us headed back, but we didn't expect what happened next. In the hallway, Nari, Shinju, and Shizue were waiting for us, "About time, you guys."

Koneko and I exchanged a concerned look before we turned back to them, "Uh, what are you guys doing up?"

Nari held out her handbook, "We're getting out of here."

"But-"

Shinju added, "We discussed this for a long while. I... I agree with Koneko, I don't want anyone to get murdered."

Koneko walked ahead, struggling to keep her voice down, "Then why are you out here!?"

Shizue said, "If the five of us scan our handbooks and leave Daisuke and Takumi behind, it won't be murder, yeah? We didn't kill them, we just chose to live."

"That's the same thing, isn't it?" I replied coldly.

"So you want to just let Mayu's death be meaningless!?" Shizue fired back at me, "To let our captors get away with all of this!?"

Were they serious right now? Really!?

I stomped towards them, "You know... I expected better from you. Huh, Shinju? Throwing away other people's lives for yourself, again?"

Nari and Shizue physically recoiled from the brutal savagery of that statement. Shinju stood there, mouth agape in disbelief.

"And you..." I looked into Shizue's eyes, "I remember the scared girl who tried to take her own life. The girl I loved enough to get stabbed for. Has she become a fucking murderer when I wasn't paying attention?"

"I didn't kill anyone," Shizue said solemnly, "How can we... How can we lay down and die, though!? Mayu wouldn't-"

I couldn't keep myself quiet any longer, "Mayu gave her life because some cunt said a sacrifice was worth his own survival. The same thing you're doing! You're disgracing her very memory."

Shizue looked away from me, unable to look me in the eyes anymore.

Nari stood between us, "This was my idea, Shinji. Don't blame them. Stop being fucking stupid."

"What...?" I was flabbergasted that she was still so callous about this.

"I... struggled all my life. I was beaten by my mother every night. Every time my teachers praised me or I won a school competition or event, she would beat me until she felt superior again," Nari had never really talked about her past before, "My dad was the only one to protect me from her, and I saw him kill himself. He even called me his little girl before he..."

Koneko had moved to my side, and she didn't say anything either.

Nari continued, "At school, no one liked me. I was great at school, but I was quiet, reclusive, scared of people's cruelty. They mocked me, unceasing in their hatred. The first day of school I came back, they joked that I was only so good at school because my dad was... A big shot at his company," she was putting every effort into not screaming and shouting, releasing the emotions she had locked up for so long.

"In middle school, Emiko was still my only friend. She managed to convince some people to leave me be, but it didn't last. When I matured..." her voice cracked, "The other girls bullied me ferociously. Called me a dirty slut and a whore, locked me in the bathroom and poured ice water on me... In high school, my chemistry professor noticed what they were doing. He swore that he'd expel them if he ever encountered them bullying me again..."

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach right now, but I listened to her, unable to say anything.

Nari held out her hands, "I trusted him, you know? He took me to his office, said I could file a report and possibly get their permanent record marked. So I did, and he... Then he..." Nari bit her palm until blood dripped down, her eyes glossing over from the tears trying to escape, "For four months, he forced me to... He did things to me that..."

Shinju reached out towards Nari, "Nari, you don't have to-"

"That was when I developed... my unique interests," she admitted, "When fantasy and real life blended... I didn't feel the pain. It was just another eroge scene to me... Not a poor girl being taken advantage of... because she's half-Japanese! Because I had developed early! Because I had no one to help save me! Because my mom found it funny when I...told her."

She couldn't help herself, screaming the last part. She was struggling to continue, but she persevered.

Nari let go of her palm, spitting the blood out to the floor, "So, I said fuck it. Killed that fucker the day before Hope's Peak came calling. Made him bleed to death. And then I went home, and I tortured her. I tortured...that fucking slut whore of a mother... I made her WISH... she had never been born."

We all stayed silent, unable to utter a word.

"Then I met Shinji... And he had similar scars," Nari sighed, "Killed people. Knew the selfishness of others. But despite that, his love was so deep. His forgiveness was so vast..." she shook her head, "How could he tolerate other people's bullshit? Mine? That's why I fell in love with him. He gave me hope... For myself."

She walked up to me and grabbed my hands in hers, "You're why I don't cry myself to sleep at night. You, and Shinju, and Koneko, and Shizue... Even Granberia... So why...? Why should I let you all die? Did I survive... all of that, just to be a victim in some sick game? What did I live for... if not for you all..." She collapsed into me, her strength finally giving out.

Daisuke and Takumi were in the hallway just outside of Daisuke's room, "Uh... We heard..."

Takumi exhaled after a bit, "Daisuke, let's just go to bed. Leave 'em alone for now."

After looking between us, he nodded, stepping back into his room with Takumi right behind him.

That night, Shinju, Koneko, Shizue, and I all stayed with Nari. None of us could bear to leave her alone, so together we united to try and make her feel better.

 **Monokuma Theater 11#**

"Wow, things got intense, huh?" Monokuma opened up with an observation, "Normally, I'd make jokes, but uh... Even this bear has a serious side. The old world, one before Despair, was an awful place for some people. Despair just convinced everyone to sink to those levels. It was the Great Equalizer!"

Monokuma sighed, "Normally, the suffering of others excites me. But it's no fun when I didn't do it," he kicked some dust off of the stage, "Just skip to the next day already."

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma showed up for the seventh time on that monitor across from my bed, "Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Not that any of you can enjoy it! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

I hadn't gotten any sleep, and there were dark rings under my eyes. Nari had fallen asleep later in the night, around 3 AM or so. The four of us quietly left her room and headed to the lounge, where Daisuke and Takumi greeted us.

"D-day four, huh?" Takumi stuttered before sneezing, "God, it's really getting colder, huh?"

Koneko curled up next to Shinju for warmth, to her surprise, "Okay then, Miss Kitten." She found herself petting Koneko anyways.

I laughed at her face, "Wow, you look awful."

Shinju, who also had bags under her eyes, shot back, "So do you," her cheeks puffed up in annoyance.

"True that," I agreed, "But I did before I got no sleep."

Shizue, the only one of us still thinking in full sentences, shook her head, "Enough. Shinji, the rest of you, time for bed."

Shizue picked up Koneko and walked her to Shinju's room, setting her inside. She came back and motioned for me to move. She led Shinju to her room as well, "You and Koneko behave, alright?"

Shinju groggily replied, "Yeah..." It turned into a yawn and she closed the door behind her, handbook in hand.

Shizue then came back for me, "You rest, too."

"Yes, Shizue. Stay with Shinju for me... Okay?" I wanted to ensure she wasn't alone, "Thanks."

I walked into my room and hit the bed, immediately fading away into unconsciousness.

 **Monokuma Theater 12#**

Monokuma scratched his head, "Again, already? Eh, it makes sense. When the human body is forced to endure intense cold for extended periods of time, the body shuts down more unnecessary systems to conserve energy and heat. Just be hopeful you wake up next time! Upupupupu!"

A blaring alarm stirred me from my slumber. I shot up in my bed, the cold air surrounding me. Shivering, I quickly got dressed. The alarm continued for another minute. I tried to exit my room, but... But it was locked.

Oh...No. No! I began pounding the door, shouting, "No! Don't tell me...!"

I checked my handbook, only to confirm my worst fears.

A murder has occurred! The rooms will unlock in 0:56:14. The time was 4:45. So the murder happened just four minutes ago!? Damnit... Dammit!

I pounded my fist against the door one last time before succumbing to the truth that it was a futile attempt.

As the time eked by, a million possibilities flashed through my mind. Who was dead? Who was the killer? Why did this happen!? How could I have possibly stopped it!?

I must have dozed off, but the second alarm rang out, and I heard the loud clang of the electronic lock releasing. Grabbing my handbook, I stormed out of the door. I nearly crashed into Daisuke and Koneko in the hall, "Guys!"

Daisuke hugged me in the moment, "Oh, thank god!"

"Daisuke, where's Takumi?" I asked, concerned.

Daisuke shook his head, "We slept in separate rooms this time. Where are the others?"

"No time," Koneko sniffed the air, "I smell blood. It's faint... The freezer!"

Nodding in unison, the three of us , running towards the freezer. Bounding down the hallway, I ripped the door open, and was greeted with horrors not yet experienced.

A small blood trail that pooled under a meat hook. Our victim was hung by the meat hook, both their mouth and eyes impaled by the hook. On the ground below the corpse was a sharpened kitchen knife, with dabs of blood on it.

I could barely recognize the victim anymore, if not for the blood-stained Sayaka t-shirt and his trademark pink ponytail. It was Takumi, the Ultimate Womanizer.

I fell to the ground behind me, sick to my stomach. We had seen some disturbing murders before, but this... This was too gruesome!

"A body has been discovered! Now, when a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will begin!" See you soon, upupupupu!" The screen flickered off, leaving us in despair-filled silence.

Daisuke called us back to our senses, "Koneko, stay with me! We'll watch the corpse. Shinji, get the others!"

"Yes, on it!" My voice was shaky, and my hands were trembling, too.

Back into the freezer hallway, I charged down to Shinju's room. I slammed on the door and Shinju opened it up, "Wha...?"

"Shinju, Takumi's dead. The alarm sounded, Koneko heard it and Daisuke and I found the corpse with her!" I explained quickly, "We need to get Nari and Shizue and figure this out!"

Shinju's eyes widened in terror, and she nodded. The two of us ran to Shizue's room next and knocked. No answer. I noticed a small torn letter fitted under the door, barely peeking out on my side, and picked it up, unfolding it, "Don't want to talk right now. Heard the alarm. Get me before the trial. I need time alone."

"Shizue?" Shinju knocked on her door again, but nothing.

Monokuma appeared before us, "No worries, guys! The person inside that room, Shinji's lover, is A-OK! She's asleep right now, though. Try not to wake her."

"If you're lying to me-" I threatened.

Monokuma laughed, "Why bother? The surprise isn't in THERE!"

A chill ran down my spine.

I ran to Nari's door instead and knocked, "Hey, Nari? Nari!?"

That was when I noticed something off. The door wasn't closed. It was open, and I could see a dresser propped up against it. What the hell!?

I took a few steps back and slammed into the door as hard as I could. It budged, and I slammed into it again, even harder this time. As the dresser crashed into the side of the bed and broke into pieces, the wood shattering on impact, I saw it.

Nari, hanging from a rope in the center of the room, her face contorted into one of fear, tears still drying on either side of her face. Her uniform was neat, except for a nick on her right shoulder, which had stopped bleeding when she died.

...When she died. When she died. Nari was... dead?

I screamed. In fear, in anger, in confusion, in sadness, I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had fallen into an even worse nightmare, and it was Nari's cold dead eyes staring back at me that would haunt me for the rest of my life...

However short it may be.


	28. Ch 3A: The Cold Shoulder, Deadly Life

**Deadly Life: START**

Still in a daze, I checked my handbook and found the Monokuma File 3#.

The first victim is Takumi Adachi, the Ultimate Womanizer. The time of death was around 4:40 AM. The body was found in the freezer area of the Cold Zone. The victim was killed by a meat hook. The cause of death was blunt impact and severe blood loss. There are no signs of frostbite, and the corpse has yet to fully undergo rigor mortis.

The second victim is Nari Kawasaki. The time of death was around 4:45 AM. The body was found in her dorm room hanging from the ceiling. The cause of death was hanging, and there is a small cut on her left shoulder. There are no other external wounds on the body.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Monokuma File 3# was added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook.**

Daisuke walked in, Koneko right behind him, still looking out towards the hallway, "Shinji, come on. Koneko is...Oh, fuck!"

"A body has been found! After a certain amount of time has passed, a trial will begin!" Monokuma announced a second one.

He finally noticed the broken man that I... I had become. I slowly glanced over to him, "Help me get her down. She... deserves better."

Koneko, realizing she couldn't help here, nudged Shinju, "Shinju... I'll guard Takumi." She left the room, headed back to the freezer.

Daisuke nodded, and we pulled her out of the rope she had been hung from, and I placed her gently on her bed, crying into her stomach the entire time. I reached out for her hand and with much emotional distress, removed her ring and placed it on mine, so she'd always be with me.

Shinju fell back towards the door, stunned into silence, "I...I'll help Koneko..."

As Shinju ran out, I scoured the floor. Looking for clues was imperative.

The first thing I found was a note written, and I picked it up. The edges were crinkled, but after unfolding it, I read it aloud, "I don't have much time! They're after me! They killed Takumi, and now they're after me! I left my handbook somewhere, so they could follow me in! The killer is-"

And it ended abruptly as the pencil marks flew off the page, "As if she got grabbed writing it, huh?" Daisuke pondered on the meaning of that.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Nari's Final Message was added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

Damn it... The way this is written, the rushed writing... I can't tell if it's her handwriting or not if it's scrawled so hastily. That being said, if she did write this... Who came after her?

Looking around, I didn't notice anything out of place. I walked over to the bathroom and opened the door. Inside, I found an empty bottle; green and blue. I knew what this was.

But why did Nari have chloroform?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Chloroform was added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

Besides that, there was nothing else in here of note. I checked the message again and noticed something. The paper was normal stationary... Wait.

 **Updated Truth Bullet! Nari's Final Message has been updated in the Handbook!**

Nothing else here told me anything except for Nari's shoulder wound. What had caused that?

"Daisuke, go back and watch Takumi," I commanded him, "I've found everything I need here."

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah... I can do that." Daisuke ran out of the room.

With him gone, I headed over to the computer. Would there be any clues here?

I turned it on and noticed the time was 6 now. I looked for data in the program files, and found something. The last program used, Paradox, was closed at 4:29 AM. The computer was likely put into sleep mode after that, since there was no internet access. So Nari was in her room until then. Why?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Nari's Computer History was added to the Handbook!**

There didn't seem to be anything else in here. I took one last look at Nari before I closed my eyes, put my hands together, and prayed for her safe passage to the next life. After all, what else could I do?

The moment of silence passed, and I bowed before leaving the room. I propped the door open with a piece of the broken dresser until we could find Nari's handbook.

Standing in the dorm hallway, I took a left and then a right to the freezer. Time to investigate the body... The first one. Takumi's.

Reaching the open door, I stepped inside. Shinju and Koneko were standing inside, looking around.

In the center of the room was Takumi's corpse. Someone had moved the hook there, though I had no way of knowing who. Was it the killer? Or someone else?

Ah, the meat hook. Takumi had been impaled on it in what was without a doubt the most sickening murder we'd seen yet. The only solace I found in it was that he died almost instantly. I didn't need a file to tell me that.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Meat Hook has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook.**

"This is... gruesome," Shinju said, barely able to keep herself from throwing up.

Koneko was standing near the corner and she clawed the wall, shearing through the ice on it, "I said... I didn't want more of us to die! So why!?"

Takumi. You know, sometimes he was annoying, but despite all that, he was my friend. Another friend, lost to the darkness.

I asked, "Koneko, you and Shinju... Shizue forced you into Shinju's room together, right?" The two nodded, "Did either of you leave?"

Koneko shook her head, "I woke up first. I heard the alarm. Shinju didn't. I waited until the doors unlocked and rushed to see you."

"But why didn't you wake up, Shinju?" I wasn't suspicious of her, but it was something to understand.

Shinju handed me a familiar bottle, "I was... Having trouble sleeping lately. Nightmares. So I took some of those sleeping medications you use. I brought them with me, you know, just in case."

40 milligrams, powerful stuff, "Alright, that answers that."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Koneko's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

Daisuke waltzed in, "Checked the lab, just in case. Didn't seem like anything was missing until I checked the tool box. Someone took a screwdriver, flat head. Not sure why."

The screwdriver, right. I should be on the lookout for that, just in case.

"Daisuke, what happened this morning?" I inquired, "I need your account."

Daisuke shrugged, "Well, okay. After you all passed out, Takumi and I played some more Yahtzee. Eventually, he cursed me out and left. I didn't make dinner. Nari said it probably wasn't necessary."

"You talked to her?" He nodded, "When?"

He scratched his chin, "Around 8 yesterday. She told me this after visiting Shizue. Said she'd passed out on her. Likely why she's not here now. I went to bed, and that damned alarm woke me up. I rushed out, and you know the rest."

I nodded, "Thanks, Daisuke. That might help."

Daisuke put his hand on my shoulder, "Shinji, I... I'm really sorry, man. I know how much you loved her..."

"Thanks, Daisuke," I replied, my voice breaking a bit, "And I'm sorry about Takumi. I wish we could have saved them both..."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Daisuke's Account was added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

That was when something clicked for me, "Koneko, is there a trash can somewhere here?"

Koneko nodded, "Yeah, um, there's one in the lounge, and one in each of our rooms."

Deciding that I might as well try, I walked out of the freezer and went to the lounge. The trash can was full of crunched up papers, all from Shinju's notebook. Likely, Takumi's score cards for our board games. I picked one up and confirmed it as such.

I reached my hand inside and felt something distinctly not paper or leftover food pieces. It was a rag. I lifted it out and the intense smell of chemicals whiffed off of it. This rag smelled just like... moonshine? Nail polish?

On a hunch, I re-entered Nari's room and grabbed the bottle of chloroform I had left on her night stand. Unscrewing the lid, I smelled inside. Bingo.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Chloroform Rag was added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook.**

Did Nari drug Shizue with this? And why? Is that why she was unconscious? Monokuma said she was in her room asleep, so it wasn't impossible. What did this have to do with the murders though, if Shizue was unconscious? Or was it not used? Was I being led to believe she was out, and she really isn't?

Could this be a ruse to falsify an alibi for Shizue? No, can't be. Nari wouldn't have helped her own killer murder her.

Gah, nothing was making sense yet! Until Shizue got out of that room, I couldn't confirm anything on that front. So let's instead focus on Takumi.

Walking back into the freezer, Koneko addressed me, "Hey, Shinji. Daisuke found something."

Daisuke motioned for me to follow him. In one of the corners was a black sleeping bag, the cord leading into a nearby outlet formerly obscured by the boxes of ice cream, "What is this doing in here?"

I knelt down next to it and felt it, "Still warm, maybe eighty degrees. Comforting..." I reached inside and felt something. I pulled it out. It was a Handbook. I hit the power button and it flashed Takumi's name.

"Why is his handbook here?" Daisuke asked, confused.

Why indeed. "I'm going into his room. Tell me if anything else comes up."

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Takumi's Handbook has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Heated Sleeping Bag has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

On my way out, I bent down to investigate the knife on the floor. A typical kitchen knife, not the widest. Effective for slicing thinner foods like celery or bread. The blood on it, only on the sharpest edge of it, had dried. The knife looked sharpened, as if someone had used tools to increase its lethality. It definitely seemed like a murder weapon.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Blood-stained Kitchen Knife has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

I had literally nothing conclusive so far. Hopefully Takumi's room would give me something to work with. I slid the handbook down the reader, and the door opened. I pushed it open and closed it behind me. No one else would get in here; I couldn't really trust anyone right now. Someone had killed Nari and Takumi out there, and it was either a girl I loved or my best friend.

The door shut, I walked inside and immediately felt my heart break. The only thing of note was a desk and chair inside, a trash can beside it, the vent shaft, and his empty bed.

On the desk was a flat head screwdriver. Ding ding ding! Takumi had the screwdriver. Why?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Flat Head Screwdriver has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

Next to it was a book; 'How to Make Friends'. I opened it up to the first page, curious, and saw... A picture of Takumi and I that we took for fun down at the market. He begged to take photos with him since he had an interest in the medium, and I had obliged. I didn't think he'd actually kept it, though...

I flipped the photo over in my hand. 'My first friend Shinji and I'. Oh. Did he leave sliced onions in here?

After wiping my eyes clean, I took the photo and placed it back into the book. The only other thing on the desk was a notebook. I opened it up, and sure enough, it was the one Shinju had given to him.

There was nothing of note besides the odd scribble here and there, until I noticed some of the pages had been torn out. Whatever for? Yahtzee scores? Maybe...

On a whim, I checked his trash can. Oh, look at that. Used tissues, balled up paper, and food wrappers. Wishing I had gloves, I reached for the balled up paper and unfolded it. Thank god it was clean.

Most of it had been crossed out in ink, but I could read it just barely through the black ink strikes, "Meet at freezer, 4:30 at morning. We're leaving the others behind. Signed, Shinji.-"

What is this? Was he luring someone into the freezer? Would it have been Nari...?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Trashed Letter has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

Putting the letter, I looked around. Is there anything else of note? After eventually guessing that I'd found all I'd need to explain Takumi's role in this double murder, I left his room, his handbook on hand, just in case.

I walked back into Nari's room, a new question to be solved. If this room had the dresser blocking it, then how the hell did they get out? If I ruled out anyone I found outside of this room, Shizue would be the only option, but she's clearly not inside. Thus, they escaped. But how?

The bathroom was a no-go. There were no windows or any other exits. No secret hatches, hidden doors, nothing like that. Just the bed, her box of games, her computer, and the ventilation system... Oh. Ohhhhhh. Oh.

The ventilation shaft. Flat head screws sealed it in place. Only one thing to do about that. After borrowing Takumi's screwdriver, I unscrewed the gate and pulled it off, "If any of the places this leads to is open, they used that way."

The very first cut off I found was open, and after dropping into the room, I sighed, "Kidding me? This is Takumi's damn room."

Wait a minute. I checked his notebook again. He had written an entry I'd overlooked. 'Tried to find a way out.' This was it! 'Took a screwdriver and snuck into the ventilation system. Went right, saw things I shouldn't have. Nari looks good... No go. No exit through this damned thing.'

Not keen to trust his judgment, I crawled back into the events. I looked into every other room. I tried to find Shizue in hers, but I couldn't see the bed from this position, and with the screws on the other side, I couldn't break in like this.

Damn. I could try to break in there, but that's not necessary just yet.

After ensuring every other gate was in place where it was supposed to be, I exited Nari's room. Takumi knew about the ventilation system, but did anyone else? Did the killer use it?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Ventilation Shafts has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your Handbook!**

If the killer used Takumi's handbook, they could act as if only he used the shafts, and left the damning evidence, the screwdriver. They could have killed him, chased Nari into her room, killed her, barricaded it, left to their own room, put the vent back into place, and then use his handbook to place the screwdriver back where it belonged.

Hell, I don't know... There's no decisive evidence here to PROVE anything. It's all conjecture. I just needed something, just one hint to their true identity, and I could solve this. I had to, for Nari and Takumi...

I sadly trudged down to the freezer. Inside, Koneko, Daisuke, and Shinju greeted me with a meager greeting, "Hey, Shinji. Did you find anything?" Koneko asked, her ears folded down.

"Nothing conclusive..." I admitted, "There's nothing that points to a particular one of us. The motive is life, so I'd naturally accuse Daisuke..."

"Hey!"

"But he's my bro. I trust him," I thought about it, "Then again, I trust you guys, too, so... Shit."

*Ding, dong, bing, bong*

The monitor flashed on, and Monokuma leveled that demonic smile towards us, "Alright, guys. I'm getting really bored. The trial will commence in fifteen minutes. Hurry up!"

With that, it flashed off, and the door at the end of the hallway beeped and flew open. A second stage was right out in the open, halfway towards the gate leading to the fourth area. It was time.

The four of us exchanged glances towards each other, "Go on ahead, I'll see if Shizue's up, yet."

The three headed off to the stage first, and I shrugged. I headed to Nari's room first, one last time. Looking at her, knowing I'd failed, knowing she was dead because I couldn't find any alternative... If I had just gone with them...

Damning myself one last time, I looked down at the ring I'd taken off of her, a reminder of my failure. I stepped outside the room, and heard the sound of a door opening.

The door to Shizue's room had opened. Did she know who was dead? Would I have to... break the news?

You know how you become somewhat comfortable in life, where you know what the world is like, your place in it, even relatively, and finally have that sense of self that coalesces with a functioning, if not often times cruel reality?

Because the universe took that little bit of self-assurance I had, and molested it.

The door closed, and the person who exited it greeted me, "Shinji... Is the door open?" I smiled back and opened my mouth to answer... until I saw what was wrong. I saw who it was.

Nari Kawasaki was standing in front of me. I repeat, this is not a drill. In her neatly pressed uniform, now disheveled, and with a sleepy and not quite there expression on her face, she asked again, "What... happened?"

What. The. Fuck. Man.

"Nope. Nope. Walk with me, trial time." She didn't understand what I meant, so I motioned for her to follow me. As we passed by her actual room, I opened the door and showed her... her body?

"What the fuck!?" Nari exclaimed, "What kind of s-sick joke is this!?"

I just accepted her reaction. What else could I do? Hell... "Come on." She hesitated, but when I began walking to the open doorway, she finally relented and followed me at a brisk pace.

The two of us stepped outside, and when Koneko, Daisuke, and Shinju realized the oddity of the situation, they freaked out, naturally.

"Zombies!?" Daisuke yelled, forming his hands into a cross.

Koneko sniffed her out, "Smells like Nari. Just like Nari. This is creepy..."

Nari sighed, "How do you think I feel? I woke up dead."

"Unless you're Shizue," Shinju countered, "Pretending to _be_ Nari. I mean, unless that other Nari is Shizue... I should feel... What? Relieved? Grateful? Even more loss!?"

The four of us and a forlorn Nari? walked onto the stage and we all descended underground to the trial room. A trial of doppelgangers. A trial of confusion. A trial of life, a trial of death.

What the hell is happening!?

 **Author's Note: To see the look on any reader's face when this gets read. Welcome to the game! Danganronpa has a habit of identity crises coming up during trials, so why not the ULTIMATE identity crisis? ...I hope you guys like this. .-.**


	29. Ch 3A: The Cold Shoulder, Trial

**Chapter 3A-The Cold Shoulder**

 **TRIAL**

 **Fuuko's POV**

Freezing them to death. What a crude and cruel technique. I wasn't even going to bother offering an additional motive. No, that would be unnecessary in this moment.

Kiyo was gone; he was in the Hot Zone, hoping to strike up a deal with them. He was content to play into Kenta's game. I had urged him to fight back, but he had refused; the Despair Fragments had to be collected, for the good of mankind.

Did he just have an axe to grind? Or was he serious? I know the last member of Ultimate Despair was our target; I knew the Future Foundation very well might mass execute the last class of Hope's Peak if we didn't find them first. But nothing could justify this...

I was in the mysterious sixth area. The fifth area was actually mundane and dismissable. This area, though, had three major points of interest.

The first was the simulations center, where the students had been forced into a series of disturbing games. Created using the same experimental technology used in the infamous Island Killing Trip, there were pods linked up to a huge program that monitored vitals, did systems checks, maintained their functionality, and had several back up programs to ensure that most psychological damage and memories could be reversed to an extent.

Unfortunately, overloading the system as they did while being in contact with Shinji and his emotion-affecting patterns had circumvented that system. They had kept their memories, something Izuru had not expected. It probably led to his downfall.

The second project involved experimentation in mass communications. Could we enhance visual and audio media to the extent where it could rewire and influence people from the inside? The proposed usage for this project was, of course, to rehabilitate serial criminals and to help enhance learning growth amongst children in the hopes of "creating" talent, a way that involved much less damage to the mind than the experiment performed on Hajime Hinata.

That project was likely used by Junko Enoshima to spread despair across the world. Perhaps she even used this facility herself at one point; which would explain why the last remnant chose to operate here independently rather than surrender to Future Foundation. If that was the case, then is this place Junko's last back up plan?

That was the fear and trepidation that motivated Kiyo so strongly. That this was Junko's "ace in the hole". Considering the last project here, I now understood why.

When Kiyo, Takuro, and the others in my group first arrived here, the security systems activated. The member of Despair had pre-recorded messages, warning us of the system that Ultimate Despair built when this was their primary base. Despite that warning, fourteen of our twenty-two person unit died in the first assault.

Eventually, it was down to Kiyo, Takuro, and I. We made it inside, but one last turret activated. Takuro had died saving Kiyo and I. Before the turret could open fire on us, Misery deactivated it. She explained how she survived; the member of Despair had spared her to watch over the comatose students.

Then I found the footage. She tried to keep me from it, probably because I told her who I was. After seeing it, I must have fallen into Despair myself. I had Kiyo set up the simulations, and we forced them through several of them. I wanted to break the bastard who had attacked her, and my suspect had been Shinji.

He never broke. In all of those many games, he always chose to die to save his friends, in more ways than I could count. I was tempted to leave him brain dead multiple times, but after learning of the last member of Despair's research, I had to find out if it was possible.

Izuru came after about a year of this. Kenta came with him for reasons of his own accord, and together we agreed on this experiment. I had detached myself from them; I was full of rage, and sadness, and allowed myself to be swayed.

Now Izuru was Hajime again, four innocents were dead, Kenta had revealed himself as the bastard that made Junko the way she was, and the only person left I could trust, Misery, never spoke. She just stared at me from afar as I conversed with her, that orange eye looking at me with such sorrow.

Did she pity me? Hate me? She never stopped my simulations, but she clearly had disapproved. So why?

Oh, right, got off track there. The last project was being worked on by some of the more technologically inclined members of Despair. Perhaps the most controversial device created by human hands, it was the third project here, and the highlight of the researchers here.

The experimental device could use a combination of warp technology, moving every atom of an individual at lightning speeds to other locations powered by nuclear fission combined with a machine that could artificially generate wormholes that could be opened and closed at will.

In the most simple sense, it was a time machine. Of course, it wasn't ready to be used; as the project lay unfinished. More than that, it was never given the go ahead by the school due to the theoretical implications it would have. One could destroy the universe by using it, or at the very least, create multiple universes by intervening.

What had been finished to coincide with it was an inter-dimensional transporter, which could also, in theory, allow one to return to the future point in said created universes. If multiverse theory was wrong, or the numbers were off by even the tiniest fraction, the traveler would be doomed, and years of research lost.

If Ultimate Despair had gained power over that technology, well...

"Hey, whatcha thinking about?" Monokuma asked me, annoying me, "Don't ignore me!"

I shoved him away, "Leave me be. Where's Misery?"

Monokuma sighed, "Fine, fine. She's in the sims room by herself. Make sure not to take too long. I have a feeling someone's gonna die soon."

Creepy bastard. Without thanking him, I left him for my destination.

With haste, I traveled to the simulation room. I opened up the door inside, and found myself in that room again. Twenty empty pods, of which eighteen were filled when we arrived. One accomplice, one evil monster warped by Junko, and sixteen innocents.

" _All of my memories keep you near... In silent moments, imagine you'd be here_ ," I heard someone (likely Misery) singing to herself. I headed towards the singing and opened a door to an open sky way, " _All of my memories keep you near, the silent whispers, the silent tears..._ "

As she finished the song or so I presumed, I clapped, "Nice vocals, girl. I was looking for you."

Misery didn't seem surprised by my arrival, looking over slowly, that same forlorn, almost dead inside expression, "Tojiko Sakyubasu. What do you want?"

"My name is Fuuko," I vehemently denied my past, "That girl... She's gone. She was innocent, unlike me."

"Hmph," Misery replied, "Shinju did say things about your chuuni attitude."

What? "You know my sister?"

Misery shook her head, "Are you stupid? I was forced to comply with Ultimate Despair. How could I forget the accomplice I saw every day? Only my memory of the actual member was taken."

"I think you're lying. I think you do know," I accused her, "Why else would Kenta keep you around!?"

"I know how this place works far better than he ever could," Misery dryly replied, "Don't insult me. And even if I did know who the member of Despair was, you'd think I'd hide it!? I'd just... Watch everyone I care about die!?"

I folded my arms, "How do you even know them!?"

Misery sighed, "I was their classmate once upon a time..." she spoke in a cryptic tone, "Please understand... Kenta is the boss here. We are just his tools. Stay out of his way and don't raise hell."

"Misery, if I don't do something-"

"I am aware what will become of your sister," she cut me off, "There is nothing you can do."

I clenched my fists. I was angry, not just at her, but at myself, "If you really cared... You'd save them! Just who are you, Misery!?"

She stood up from her seat and walked towards me, never taking her eye off me, "I'm what's left. A shadow," She walked by me before adding, "I was never meant to be."

With that, she opened the door behind us and walked through it, not saying another word. Who was she!? A nineteenth student? But the school always gathered them in even numbers... Unless! The Ultimate Cadaver! Could that be it!?

A shadow, though? What's left? What did all of that mean!? Why didn't anything she say make sense!?

That was awhile ago. Since then, I had watched over the seven people I'd been charged with. Despite my best efforts, a killing, a double killing, even, had still occurred. I awaited them in the stands, unable to say anything to the evil bear Monokuma. Misery had also decided to join me, though she just observed from behind.

The door to the elevator dinged and slided open. Out of the five elevator came the five survivors. Shinji led the way, with Shinju and Koneko walking hand in hand. Behind them came Daisuke. Trailing at the back of the pack was Nari, who looked both traumatized and confused.

This would be a memorable trial, if anything. I wish it could have been prevented.

 **Shinji's POV**

Seven stands awaited us. From the center and going clockwise, the order was; Daisuke, Shinju, myself, Koneko, a placard with Takumi's face on it, Nari?, and a placard with another Nari's face on it. Great. No clues there. God dang it, Monokuma.

We all got up to our respective podium, and I looked around at the others. Damn it. I didn't want to accuse anyone here of having done it. But what else could I do!?

"Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for 'whodunnit.' If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person..." Monokuma stretched the last word out for emphasis, "I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this resort!"

"We get it already, you stupid bear," Daisuke replied with anger, "We have bigger problems. Like who that girl is!"

Nari normally would have shouted back, but she muttered weakly, "Do I look off to you? It's me... Nari. Though I guess you wish it was actually Shizue standing here instead... right?"

Daisuke shook his head, "Then why is Shizue dressed like you!? And who killed her!?"

"How should I know!? I've been unconscious since I last met her!"

Shinju interrupted, "Daisuke, quiet. Nari, calmly explain what you remember."

Nari scratched her own head, "It was dinner time, and Shizue invited me over. I came into her room, and she asked me to help her fix the creases in her uniform. Then I... don't remember any more."

"Likely story," Daisuke spat his response back at her, "Bullshit. You're the one who wanted out! You were the one who killed Takumi and Shizue!"

"Then why does she look like me!?" Nari shot back, "And what proof do you have I did these things!?"

"Enough," I cut them both off, "Shut it. We'll tackle this bit by bit. Starting with Takumi..." I looked over at his placard, "The attempted murderer."

Daisuke glared at me, "The fuck are you on about!? I was with Takumi the whole time we were here! Never once did he-"

Koneko interjected, "You yourself said yesterday you weren't together."

"I... I didn't mean I didn't know anything about where he was! I saw him... before the alarm!" Daisuke rambled back.

"That's wrong! Your account to me says otherwise!" He turned his attention to me, "You said you saw Nari outside Shizue's room, but you never mentioned Takumi before! So either you're lying to protect him now, or you lied to me then. In which case, I'd have to accuse you."

Daisuke angrily argued back, "So you're really gonna betray me, bro!? You really think I did it!?"

I stared back at him, "Koneko was with Shinju. They have alibis. And if I didn't do it, it's either you, her," I pointed to Nari, "or the girl that died. Any ideas for that?"

"Fine, I get it," Daisuke pulled back, "We're really low on suspects right now. So what do you want me to do, huh!?"

"Let me make my point," I answered confidently, "Takumi's frostbite was a result of messing with the ice cream. You were there for it. How could he have warmed his hand up? The only thing that could be hot here are those heated bags."

Daisuke thought on that point, "I mean.. Yeah, I guess."

Shinju added to my argument, "There was a sleeping bag in the freezer. With Takumi's handbook in it. So we can assume he went into the freezer. He got into the sleeping bag with his handbook, and he camped out there. But why?"

"Maybe he wanted to just warm up," Daisuke offered.

I handed him the paper I found, "This was in his wastebasket, scrunched up and hidden inside. Look through the marks and read that for me. Inviting someone to the freezer at about 4:30 AM. And when did the murders occur?"

"This isn't conclusive," Daisuke rebuttaled, "So what if that's what this says! It could be planted!"

I shook my head, "With Shinju's initials in the corner, that's the same paper Shinju gave him. The only paper he HAD. And without his handbook, they couldn't plant it."

Daisuke responded in vain, "Then they used it to get inside his room!"

"Who? Say Takumi wasn't inviting someone to the freezer. How would they have even found him? And why was he there to begin with at such a time if this isn't true!?" I argued back.

Daisuke's expression darkened as he crumpled up the paper and slammed his fist onto his podium, "Damnit, bro! You had ONE job..."

"He always had one job," Shinju reminded him, "And when did he do it?"

" _Eye_ would be on him messing this up, if I had _seen_ it happen with my own eyes," I bitterly added, "So he invited someone there, hid in the sleeping bag, and attacked them when they arrived. The second victim's corpse has a wound on the shoulder, presumably from his kitchen knife."

"So he invited Nari and attacked her when she came in?" Koneko tried to piece this together, "Or did he invite Shizue?"

I shook my head, "My money is on Nari, since he'd consider her the easier option. He even said he'd die for us to escape, so this might have been him trying to save us... But he fucked up. And now, we're here."

Shinju concluded, "So how is the killer involved?"

"That's the problem," I moaned, "I checked Nari's room. Inside, her computer had a program last opened at 4:29 AM. Then the computer was put to sleep. Nari went to meet Takumi, and Takumi attacked her."

Nari opined, "This is really weird, hearing you guys talking about me doing stuff I couldn't have done."

"How do you think I feel?" I shot back.

Koneko brought up another topic, "So in theory, let's say the Nari that died is her. She visited Takumi, was attacked, ran from him. Then he was killed by the killer, and the killer axed her, too?"

"This presents a problem," I reminded them, "I found a rag covered in chloroform in Nari's trash can. It was definitely used to knock someone out. So the Nari that was killed... couldn't have been drugged."

Nari chimed in, "Meaning I was the one drugged. Get it?"

Daisuke asked, "Her message said she was being followed, and she was killed before finishing it, right?"

"It's not Shinju's paper, which is odd," Koneko observed, "Shizue, Shinju, and Takumi all had access to it."

I agreed with that, "Takumi was dead by that time. Unless he hung her up and then killed himself, but then he'd have left a fake note. So we can safely assume this note is either Nari's... Or Monokuma's."

Monokuma perked up at hearing that, "Excuse me!? I didn't do anythin-"

"Don't lie. You exchanged Sakura's final note with another. It's a possibility. Now quiet down," I shot him down immediately.

"Damn it, but you are right," Monokuma chuckled, "Good job remembering that one, Shinji."

I glared back at him, "Don't patronize me, bear. I'll end you."

Shinju looked up at her sister, "Fuuko, do you know? Can you help!?"

Fuuko looked back at Misery, who said nothing, "Well, I don't know if I can. I wasn't watching you guys like last time. So I don't know who did it..."

Daisuke sighed, "Useless again, eh, Sakura?"

Fuuko added, "I knew Takumi was intent on killing someone, though. I watched him plant the note. Right under Nari's door. That's all I can offer."

I shook my head, "Okay, so let's presume Nari here, or Shizue if it is her masquerading, isn't the killer. She was drugged, so it makes sense, right?"

The others nodded, "Yeah, we can follow that line for a bit," Koneko replied, ears still fluttering in the cold, crisp air.

"Then one of us four killed the girl," I said, still confused myself. Who did I lose? I couldn't even grasp the despair I felt about this trial yet, "That's impossible, though. The door was barricaded. Nari's message said she didn't have her handbook."

Nari held out hers and turned it on, displaying her name, "I woke up with it in Shizue's room."

I asked, "Is hers, too?"

Nari nodded, "Yeah, Shizue's was next to mine."

Daisuke smirked, "So let me ask; is it possible Nari drugged Shizue, dressed her up as herself, met Takumi and killed him, then killed Shizue to form her alibi, and faked the note herself?"

Nari took offense to that, "Fuck you, bro! I'd never murder Shizue! I loved her! With all my heart and soul and body, I... loved her."

"I'm not going to believe that just because you cry a little," Daisuke coldly replied, "Just because you love someone doesn't mean you can't kill them!"

"Hey, Daisuke, can you stop?" Koneko asked, "Please, this arguing isn't moving anything forward."

Daisuke grunted in annoyance, "This bitch killed her lover, that's the only option!"

Nari's eyes glossed over as she looked up at him, "So is this about Yoshikazu betraying you and leaving you to die?"

"What did you-"

"Or are you taking the fact you killed him with your vote just like the rest of us to selfishly live on out on us?" Nari asked, still glaring at him, "Which mistake are you trying to force on me right now, hm?"

Daisuke tried to jump over his podium, but Koneko swatted him back down to the floor, "Lay off."

"He just insulted the man who tried to fucking save her life! I'll kill that cunt myself!" Daisuke jumped up and tried again to lunge at her. Koneko held him back, and he turned on her, pushing her to the floor, "I won't allow it!"

I moved to intervene, but found there was no need to.

Koneko grabbed his back leg and twisted it, a crack resounding.

Daisuke crumpled to the floor, howling in pain and agony. Koneko stood back at her podium, depressed even more now than before, "Nari, no more outbursts. Daisuke, no more attempted murder. I will not tolerate this any further."

Daisuke got up on his good foot and stumbled into the podium, holding himself up with it, "Gah... Crazy bitch..."

Back at my podium, I glanced up at Monokuma, who smiled down on us as if he wasn't involved, "I like this," he began eating popcorn from a tub he pulled out from behind his throne.

I spoke up, "Daisuke... Seriously? What happened to my best friend who thought rationally? Why are you so hung up on this? So angry, so... different? You've been quick to act, but ever since the second trial, you've been so explosive..."

"I found my sister," Daisuke sorely responded, "In that maze... I investigated... I found her. What was left of her... And I was told... the mastermind behind her death, Ultimate Despair... Was responsible for this murder, too."

"What?! Why didn't you say anything!?" I yelled back at him.

Daisuke cried out, "I couldn't! I found it... The night Takeshi died. I felt as if, had I mentioned it, I'd have been accused," He spread his arms, "I mean... I almost got killed by those dogs in there, too. I hoped, prayed I'd find a way out... But instead..."

Shinju tried to comfort him, "Daisuke... You should have told us. We could have comforted you..."

"I also could have alerted the bastard I wanted to kill," he responded, "I will find Ultimate Despair, and I will kill them. Whoever among us it is..."

"Even me?" I asked him.

Daisuke didn't answer, but his hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

"Fine..." I responded, taking my sweatshirt off as I felt constrained in it, "Seems as if you broke the bro code first."

Nari interrupted us, "Enough. Daisuke... I'm sorry for your loss. Even if you don't believe me or hate me, I am. But we have to focus on finding the killer. Or all of us will be killed."

Daisuke didn't respond to her, standing there with his fractured leg wallowing in his own despair.

Monokuma chuckled, "Yep, the second motive for him was her life! Too bad he burned it up! Maybe if I'd have offered it to him, he might have killed first!"

Koneko addressed our main problem, "So let's say it was Daisuke, myself, or Shinji. I can account for Shinju, so her alibi is solid. Mine isn't, because I awoke before her and could have committed the murders. How did they escape Nari's room?"

Shinju paused, "With the front blocked off by a dresser, there's no way they used that entrance. But there's no other way out."

"Wrong!" I declared, "The ventilation shafts can be used to move between our rooms, and even into the freezer, the lab, and the hallway. It's how the cold air was dispersed so thinly but so consistently amongst our areas."

Nari thought about it, "Aren't the shafts screwed on?"

Daisuke's eyes lightened up, "Wait, Shinju! Didn't the lab have tools!? What kind of screw do they use?"

I interceded her, "Flat head. The only screwdriver with a flat head from the toolkit that fits the screws on the vents was in Takumi's room. His room had the vent open."

"So someone-" Nari began.

"Impossible," I rejected the idea immediately, "Locked in Takumi's room. Without his handbook, there's no way to unlock the vents. And with Nari's vent untouched and closed off, there's no way they rescrewed it on after they left."

Daisuke thought on it, "But if they left the room-"

"The door was still blockaded, and they'd have to break in. Defeats the purpose of leaving that way. We have to assume they never left," I answered confidently.

"Well... Then who could have-"

Monokuma, who was gone from the chair, appeared on our screens in his chair, sipping a martini as he announced, "A body has been discovered! Now, after a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will begin!"

I checked my handbook. Eight AM. "What was that!?"

Monokuma appeared back in his chair, "Someone in the other group got the stones to murder! Their trial will be coming in a while, so we don't have forever to argue, understood?"

Damn it. Now we had time limits!? Who was the killer? Was Nari or Shizue dead? And why did the killer do it!?

 **CLASS TRIAL**

 **SUSPEND**

Monokuma, Misery, and Fuuko appeared together in a room, "Exciting, isn't this!? I love a good mystery!"

Misery said nothing, looking deep into the camera with her one eye unbandaged.

Fuuko just glared at Monokuma in silence.

Monokuma sighed, "Alright, fine. I just hope the second victim in this case can tutor me on some _killer_ cosplay, am I right!?"

 **CLASS TRIAL**

 **CONTINUE**

Shinju, Nari, Daisuke, Koneko, and I were still at our podiums, sweat running down each of our faces. A murder had occurred in the hot zone, and we still had a killer to find.

Monokuma returned to his chair, elated, "I'm so excited! So guys, come on, chop chop! The trial is going on now."

"We know!" Daisuke yelled at him.

I thought on what was said, "Daisuke... Who told you the Despair remnant killed our victims?"

Daisuke pointed up to Monokuma, "He said so. He cracked the code."

Monokuma smiled as he held a glass container. Inside were three fragments of pure black, the Despair fragments, "I've been monitoring you guys, and I've identified three suspects. Moreover, they didn't commit the murders this time. Just... influenced it."

"So the person who killed Takumi and Shizue... or Nari?" I asked.

"Someone other than Ultimate Despair," he answered, "Not one of the three suspects, anyways."

I cursed to myself, "Enough about that. Let's focus on the issue here. Is the second victim actually Shizue or Nari?"

Nari argued, "If I was Shizue, why would I fake being me unless I killed them?"

"That's the issue," I answered, "We'd have to vote Shizue, not you. So in theory, you could be Nari tricking us to kill Shizue."

Nari objected, "No way! I'd... What would I gain!?"

Daisuke shrugged, "Life. Maybe you care more for yourself than us. Hell, maybe you meant to get caught."

Koneko frowned, "Nari wouldn't do that."

"How do you know that?" Daisuke responded.

I agreed with Koneko, "The fact is, I know for a fact Nari and Shizue both would never kill Takumi unless they were forced to."

Shinju's eyes shifted to Nari, "Say it was self-defense. Or an accident. Takumi attacks her and impales himself on the damned hook."

"But she would have had to move the hook," I countered.

"What if the Despair member did? Seems likely. And if it wasn't, Monokuma might have done it, too," Shinju glared at the bear.

Monokuma snickered, "Sounds like something I'd do."

Koneko folded her arms under her chest, a frown on her face, "Okay, so... Let's pretend Kuma or the traitor did it. Takumi accidentally impales himself on it, and Monokuma blames it on Nari... or Shizue... Then what?"

That's when I realized the truth. The depressing truth, "She... died for us."

"What are you on about?" Daisuke asked, scratching his head, "Speak more plainly!"

I decided to summarize the events as I saw them, "The locked room and the lack of any other exit means the killer had to be inside the room. The only option IS the second victim. They killed themselves after they ended their own life, and Monokuma, the bastard that he is, switched out their dying note because it would have ruled this case pointless."

Monokuma smirked, "Who, me? Would I pull the same trick twice?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation, "You sick fuck."

Nari nodded, "So... I'm innocent, right? If Shizue was pretending to be me, she'd just get us all executed, right? Why would she do that?"

Shinju asked, "I'd normally just agree, but..."

Koneko chimed in, "Nari, I trust you and Shizue implicitly, but... Say Shizue was the member of Despair. She could get all of us axed with this plan. Right? So by playing Nari, you could be killing us all."

Nari seemed surprised by that accusation, "How could Shizue be in Despair!?"

"She tried to kill herself earlier, remember?" I reprimanded her, "Seems like she could have succumbed to it to me, though I'm loath to say it."

Daisuke nodded, "So if Shizue is alive, she's the bastard trying to get us killed, and we need to vote Nari. If Shizue is in fact dead, we have to vote her."

Koneko frowned, curling her tail around her, "They smell the same. And any memories Nari would have, Shizue has to have as well. If we asked Nari about Shizue's, well, she either doesn't know..."

Shinju added, "Or would just say she can't. An interesting and damning trap we may have fallen into."

That was when I felt a lump form in my throat. That motherfucker planned this. They used Shizue's talent to try and Nagito us. God damn it!

I slammed my fist into the podium, "No, I'm not doing it. Shizue isn't a member of Despair. I believe in her. I'd rather die believing in her."

Koneko frowned, "Shizue... If she bet on Shinji voting for her, she might have bet on me doing it, too. I'd never want to vote a guilty verdict on Nari, and she would know that..."

"Three votes Shizue would be enough to get us executed," Daisuke completed her line of reasoning, "This case was designed to perfectly divide us three to two. If even one of us lowers our guns, we're at a fifty-fifty chance of winning."

Shinju further complicated the matter, "Vote for... Shizue or Nari? I... Nari," Shinju shook her head, "No, I... I'd rather vote myself then either of them. Without any proof, I..."

Nari argued, "Vote Shizue, then. Believe in us both."

"But what if that gets us killed?" Shinju motioned to Koneko, Daisuke, and I, "Do I really trust Shizue enough to risk their lives!?"

Was there any way for me to confirm whose identity was whose? I struggled with that doubt in my mind as much as I could.

I prayed with my hands together in the vain hope that it could somehow instill in me some divine answer from beyond. Of course, nothing came to mind.

Monokuma surveyed each of our defeated expressions before he asked, "Anything left to debate? Can I run the vote? Or do you guys need some more time? For the record, now would be the time for your brains to ring a bell about information, y'know?"

Daisuke cursed under his breath, "Once again, I'm useless. I'm never useful in these damn trials... Even now!"

Shinju bent over her podium and held her head in her hands, "Nothing... I can't think of anything either... Shizue's talent makes this impossible! Only what she wears needs to be the same. Otherwise, they're the same!"

Oh.

I looked up after a few moments and announced, "I know who died."

"What!?" The other four shouted in unison, like a barbershop quartet.

I slid the newest ring off of my finger, "This here. Only ten in existence, each specially crafted. In fact, I even had certain metals and gemstones embedded inside. So they all weigh ever so slightly differently. Not that I'd notice. But Shizue's talent only affects her body and mind. Not this ring."

Nari reached down to her own ring, "Mine is 'to the rival romantic'... I remember because of how embarrassing it was."

I handed Shizue's ring to Shinju, "My sensual sweetheart. I get it now. The case went down like this...

Takumi created a plan to murder. He took a sleeping bag into the freezer with a weapon, the kitchen knife. He wrote a message to Nari, but made a mistake and tossed a copy away. It wouldn't matter; he had to throw away trash properly, and his room was locked. He took his handbook with him; he had to.

Somehow, Shizue intercepted the message and formulated her own plan. She probably didn't want to kill Takumi, but simply to see his intents. If he tried to kill her, she would expose him. She went to the lab, used the chloroform we hid together and knocked Nari out in her own room. She moved Nari to her own room. Then she switched clothes, and became Nari. She talked to Daisuke to cement her own alibi, and to place Nari in her room at that time, as 'Shizue'. She returned to her own room with the evidence she had done so, rag in the trash and empty bottle in the bathroom.

She used Nari's computer to give us a time in case she did get killed. She left and met Takumi in the freezer, and he tried to kill her. Takumi screwed it up and got himself impaled. He said before he was willing to die for us, so I imagine he chose Nari after our own recent fights. Maybe he liked her the least. He would then have outed himself.

Monokuma must have known this, so he moved the hooks. Takumi gets into an accident, and Monokuma gets to make a trial for Shizue instead. Shizue writes a note, barricades the room as evidence that she had to have been the killer, and hung herself. She didn't live long after.

Monokuma snuck in, probably through the vents himself, or another route. He switched the letters to further trick us, since a simple trial would be a bore. Then he lied to me about where the 'real' surprise would be to throw me off from his real ruse. Nari woke up outside of her room with no memories of these events, and Monokuma had augmented this trial to fit his own selfish wants. Well, am I right?"

Monokuma chuckled, "Good observations, Shinji. You remind me of Makoto. Hajime, too. Not trusting me, you learned so fast! I actually have Shizue's letter, but I'll give it to you after the vote."

None of us had any more to say, each of our expressions one of worry, of loss, of hope and despair in equal measure. A slot machine flashed and spun, eventually landing on a little picture of Shizue. Coins flew out as if we had won a jackpot, but all we had earned was a hole in our hearts.

Monokuma smiled broadly, "So, the person responsible for killing Takumi Adachi... is in fact Shizue Koga! She is also, of course, the second victim in this case. Great job, guys! Now it's punishment time!"

"Punishment time? The killer is dead," Daisuke shouted in anger, having had enough.

Monokuma ignored him, pulling out his gavel and slamming it onto that big red button of evil, "Considering who she is, I'll make it special!"

On the screen appeared an interesting title. Nari Kawasaki's Execution, the Final Lesson!

Shizue's body, still dressed up as Nari, and having been cleaned of those blood spots, was being controlled like a marionette. A giant Monokuma from above had her angrily smack a chalkboard that depicted, of all things, insemination. I recognized this; it was from Makoto's almost execution. Except Nari was teaching a stuffed doll of Makoto as it slowly inched its way down the conveyor belt.

I felt the urge to run over, to intervene, but Daisuke held me back, "Shinji... I'm here."

None of us could do anything. We were forced to watch as Monokuma reveled in our defeat even more so as Shizue's body, the desk and the chalk board were ruthlessly and brutally crushed into paste on the floor, the pink mess splattering the entire belt and landing on us as well. Koneko and Nari screamed in horror, Shinju fainted, and Daisuke kept me from doing the same, holding me up by my shoulder.

Monokuma jumped down, "Extreeeeme! Remember Nari, if you kill someone... Teach them well!"

With that, he led us back to the Cold Zone, and at the end, the door was open. The five of us ran through it, fearful he'd lock us in again. Behind us, the door remained open, and we came to another small area. The gate to Area Four was closed, but there was a lounge for us to sit. Atop the table was a letter, and I flew towards that table with every bit of speed.

Before I could reach it, Kenta stepped through the gate, a smile on his face, "Excellent performance, Shinji. That pesky ring ruined my grand plans... I'll factor that into the next trial, of course."

I felt my rage boiling, but I held it. Behind me, Koneko was dressing Daisuke's leg wound, and Nari was holding Shinju, trying her damnedest not to cry all over her.

Fuuko and Misery walked up behind me, and I addressed them, "Misery... Fuuko. Obviously, I intend to spare you again. More to the point... You warned Shizue, didn't you? Of Takumi's intents."

Fuuko reluctantly bobbed her head, "Yes, I... I believed that out of all of you, she could prevent this from happening. But Monokuma interfered enough to thwart my aid..."

Kenta bellowed, "Interfering is against the rules, Fuuko! I should kill you now!"

I stepped in between the two, "Hey, I choose to spare her. Again."

"Then I'll just take her back and use her again," Kenta proclaimed, "She is my ally, after all."

Shaking my head, I denied him, "She was and is my responsibility. Break the rules, and I'll punish you."

Kenta laughed uproariously, as if he just opened the gates of hell to see the Devil only to insult him with this attitude of his, "You stand no match against me, boy! I'm better than you!"

I reached into my pocket with my left hand, feeling Mayu's ring on my index finger, where I'd placed it last night after cleaning them, "Mayu... Help me pull a Mirai Nikki!" I let go of the object I had grabbed, a sharp dart. Instead of a dart board, however, my target was Kenta.

The dart pierced his left eye before he could react, blood splattering everywhere. He screamed in agony, cursing me.

I addressed Monokuma, "If he breaks the rules like this, it ruins your game, right?"

Monokuma thought on that, "True..." Monokuma quickly launched towards Kenta with his claws, striking him right in his weak spot; the metal armlet on his right arm. The gauntlet cracked into pieces and shattered from Monokuma's blow.

Kenta grabbed his head and fell to his knees in agonizing pain. Monokuma explained, "That armlet of his gave him the power. He should have reserves, but not enough to run amok. Kenta, if you disobey me..." Monokuma unsheathed his claws, "I'll finish you. Now stop cheating. Nay, you're the boss for area four. So I decree."

"If you think you can demand anything of me..." Kenta growled back at him, blood leaking from his face, "I will-"

Monokuma clawed through his chest, knocking him back, "Try me, bitch!"

Kenta collapsed under the stress, and Monokuma grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up, "I'll get him healed. He's your next boss. Good luck; you'll need it."

Did Monokuma just help me? Did that really work? No, no, Monokuma just hated Kenta, too. That was what I told myself anyways.

With them gone, I felt something on my shoulder. Fuuko held me close, crying, "I... He was... You protected me... He scared me... Threatened me... Beat me..."

I held her in my arms, running my hand through her hair, calming her with my voice, "It's okay, Tojiko. I forgive you... I'll protect you now, okay? I owe you that much... So please, stay strong for me."

I looked up at Misery, who for the briefest of moments I felt smiled at me. Before I could even process that though, her face was that same miserable expression, "Thank you for standing up to Kenta today. I will bid you farewell. Fuuko... Stay safe with them. Please."

Misery patted her head as she walked off and the gate to Area 4 opened up for her. It closed shortly thereafter, and I noticed the trial room was now in session. Hot Zone had to suffer through one, too, didn't they?

Koneko walked over, "Shinji... We're waiting for you guys. We thought you should read it for us."

I nodded, and I led Fuuko by the hand to the table. She sat across from me, and I gingerly opened up the letter. Inside it was paper just like Shinju's, confirming that Shizue had access to it, not Monokuma.

The letter read as such...

"Dear readers... Hey guys, it's Shizue. I know that you're reading this after the trial. As you already know... I'm dead. Takumi is, too. This would be my final memoir, my goodbye. So for each of you, and the others, I have to pass on my final thoughts. To each of you."

"I'll skip over the first seven messages," I told the others, "They need to hear this for themselves."

The others nodded, and so I continued.

"Now, for the Cold Zone survivors. Takumi did talk to me when he attacked. Said he'd been motivated to die for Shinji. His only way to repent for his earlier actions, he said. I don't know if he came up with that or not, but it broke my heart. He nearly killed me, but I tripped into him. That hook...

I didn't hate Takumi, not even now, when I have to end my own life over him. He was a buffoon, and downright idiotic at times, but... He loved Shinji and Shinju, more than either could ever know. He went on a date with her for more than just to feel her up; he felt it was his only chance to ever feel like... she could have loved him back.

He confessed this to me before he killed me, since he never intended to tell the others. He wanted to spare your feelings. I thought I should give his side of the story.

Daisuke. I know what you did, what you found. It must hurt you so, so much. But know this; When I condemned Mayu to death, I never felt worse in my life. Even if she had been evil, even if she had been the cause of all of our suffering, I cried myself to sleep every night we stayed in this zone. Please, don't obsess over revenge. Try to find it in your heart to forgive them... Before you become a Blackened yourself.

If you consider Shinji and Shinju to be like siblings to you, then live, for them. Please abide my one request of you... For me, for Yoshikazu, for Mayumi, please. We'd want you to live."

Daisuke turned away from us, holding his head in his hands, not verbalizing a response. I continued.

"Koneko, our dear, precious cinnamon roll. Offering yourself to die... Very brave, but I refuse. The others love you, much more so than me. Maybe not Shinji, but Nari for sure. But that's okay; you deserve to be loved. It makes up for all that time you were treated wrong. What Kenta did to you was horrible.

But now you have some of the greatest people in the world to love, whom love you back. Kenta gave you despair, but now it's blossomed into hope. Please, Koneko, live on for them, for me. Don't ever become a part of this game; I know you intend never to give in without me asking, but I felt the need to say it anyways... I love you, Koneko. You were my dear younger sister in many ways..."

Koneko struggled not to cry, to no avail, "Shizue... I never..." she wiped her tears away, "I loved you, too! Why...? Why didn't you come to us!?"

Daisuke spoke in between exasperated breaths, his voice cracking as he struggled to maintain his stalwart demeanor, "She lived up to Mayu's legacy, you know? Dying to save her beloved ones. Shizue must have really admired her..."

"Nari, whom I died to save. Takumi chose you mostly because he knew what you wanted. To save the ones you loved. Just like him. I'm sure he'd not be too upset at this result. That being said, I died to save you. Now two killers have done that, huh?

Nari. You've been through a lot, so when Fuuko warned me... I couldn't let you die. Shinji gave me a reason to live, Mayu gave me values to die for, and I chose to protect you. Mayu would have done the same.

Some may see this as a fool's errand or that I should have found an alternate way out. But there was none; When I wore Mayu's ring, I guess you could say she rubbed off onto me. So Nari, listen. Let go of the past. You deserve to be happy, so please. Live with the others. Enjoy every precious moment; otherwise, I won't be too happy."

I had to shake my head not to cry, "Damn it..."

Nari finally spoke up, "She loved us all so much... And we let this happen..."

"Shinju. I thought you'd shape up after our talks. Get that chin up, be yourself again. Shinji would appreciate a little more aggressive handling, you know? Jokes aside, you know everything I'd want to say to you. But I'll say it again.

You helped push me to be courageous. I would never have... Cosplayed with Shinji without your influence. So I thank you, though I did steal your man! :P But seriously... The times I spent with you, with everyone... It justified all the times I wanted to die. And you are responsible for that. Stay strong. Keep Shinji in line, and never forget the girl whose life you saved."

Shinju nodded as she held Nari close to her, "I... I will, Shizue."

Fuck me, but this was depressing to read. Closure was good, but it still crushed my soul to read this. And now I was at the climax.

"Shinji... I request you to wear my ring next to Mayu's and yours. That way, we can live on in you. If what I experienced taught me anything, you might be able to harness our talents through them. I hope my talent can save you in the future. Nothing would make me happier...

What can I say to you that would surprise you? Oh, but you know me too well. I was your sensual sweetheart. My love for you was pure, just like for everyone else. I didn't ask much from you, except to demand to be treated with respect. Don't let Monokuma, or anyone else ever take advantage of you again. Have a backbone for me, or else. Yuno might make a return.

The Ultimate Arbiter, the Saccharine Manwhore, and the man who gave me hope... I know you can't promise me that you'll survive, or save everyone else. I'm not that optimistic.

Just know that if you die, I'll be waiting at the gates of Heaven. And with Mayu... we'll welcome you all to join us... okay?" Tears had stained the page right here, "So whether it's in this life or the next, I love you. You, Shinji. Not your talent, not who I think you are, but you. Just like you loved me...

Goodbye to everyone... With love from the bottom of my heart, Shizue Koga, the Ultimate Cosplayer..."

 **Author's Note: Next chapter's gonna take a while. At least until I get out of the fetal position and stop crying. This trial hurt me so much to do... I hope it sucked for you, too. F*ck, man... My birthday's tomorrow and shit. Why did I do this to myself!? ;-;**


	30. Ch 3B: Boiling Point, Daily Life

**Chapter 3B-Boiling Point**

 **-Granberia's POV-**

I waved goodbye to Shinji and the others before shutting the door behind me. The room was heated to just above room temperature, though the metal pipes on the walls made me wonder how long that would last.

The hallway continued for a little ways before it revealed a metal door with a copper knob. The seven of us looked over the door, but nothing was out of place to them, it seemed. Nico stepped forward as our leader and pulled the door open, "Careful, knob's warm."

I was the last to enter inside behind them, and we quickly observed the three pathways to take. One was to a row of rooms labeled 'Dormitories', one led to the 'Boiling Room', and the last led to 'Metalworks'.

Nico scratched his chin for a moment, "Satoshi. You and Kibou check out our dorms and the door ahead. See if there's anything important there."

Satoshi nodded, "Sure thing, boss."

Kibou chuckled at her boyfriend, "A bit formal, aren't we?"

"Just come on already," Satoshi urged her, adjusting his collar and blushing furiously, "We have our assignment." The two of them headed straight for the dorms down the hall.

Nico sighed under his breath, "Wish Shizue was here... Alright, Kenji, take Hanako to the boiling room with you. Be careful."

Kenji saluted Nico, "Yes, Captain. Er... Yeah, whatever. Let's go, Hanako."

Hanako walked over to him and he briskly grabbed her hand, "No worries. I'll protect you."

"But Kenji-"

"Ah, ah, ah. No buts. I said I can handle it. As long as I breathe, I can guarantee you'll be safe," Kenji smirked despite Hanako's clear reluctance, and the two walked hand in hand towards the boiling room. I would hate to have to search that room, too.

Nico addressed Akihiko and I, "We're going to investigate the last location; the metalworks. I fear it may contain a bevy of dangerous and ill-placed tools of destruction. If that's the case, Akihiko and I will dispose of them."

Monokuma appeared behind us, "Ah, ah, ah! No destroying my property! You can move and hide it if you want, but no destruction!"

"Fine, then we'll hide it," Nico replied in a serious tone, "Anything is better than leaving it out like you'd desire, you sick creature."

Without a snarky reply, Monokuma left our presence once more, allowing a sigh of relief to wash over us. For now, we would be free of his annoying presence.

The three of us walked down the right pathway, which bended downwards. Walking down the incline, we observed the area.

There was a ladder, and a sign above it read Boiler Room, "So we can get there from here as well," Nico noted.

The doors to the metalworks were two red metal doors that looked both rusted and locked with a chain, "We don't have a key..."

Akihiko patted me on the shoulder, "Good thing you're here, right?"

I sighed before getting to work. Taking out a lock pick from the breast pocket of the green sweatshirt I was wearing over my new crimson blouse, I inserted it into the lock and fiddled about with it.

How I discovered my talent was actually pretty tragic. I was kidnapped by some organization to get money out of my father, and they locked me in some old warehouse. I managed to pick my way out thanks to a bit of broken metal. My mother was shocked when I came home safe and sound, and then she immediately began promoting me in that game the Togami heirs endure.

I disregarded those thoughts of my past as I heard the familiar sound of a click, and the lock fell off of the chain onto the floor with a loud crash. I pushed the doors open and stepped inside, the other two following.

The metalworks was just as we expected; huge vats for molten steel, assembly lines, some areas for smithing and tempering the steel into blades. Lumps of ore lined up outside the smelter, and the finished pieces were waiting next to a container of water and the anvil used for hammering it into place.

We investigated the room, and I observed multiple things by analyzing the structure of the building. The roof was higher in here than the other areas, obviously to accommodate the vats. Why would they have designed this resort for major metal production?

Ah, a thought occurred to me. There was an Ultimate Blacksmith, yes? Then likely, this resort was actually a second installation of the school itself. Rumors of several school expansions were coming after the Elementary school was opened, and soon after, the Reserve Course was formed to generate more income for the school.

The areas we had seen so far were likely designed for previous students to enjoy themselves. A gaming arcade, places for artists and people who dress up as others, metalworks, and more, should we climb higher.

In the back of the room were a pair of blue doors, fire extinguishers on either side for safety reasons. The room had a fire escape with an alarm attached to it, an emergency exit for anyone caught in some disaster. The winding stairway led upstairs; to where, I couldn't discern from this angle. If I had to guess, a room on the same floor as the dorms and boiling room.

Nico pushed on the blue doors, them bending inwards. Inside were storage shelves. A storage room. Inside were blowtorches, welding masks and goggles, and other necessary items, like burn ointments, emergency water supplies, and more.

Nico folded his arms and finally expressed his thoughts, "A deadly location, to be sure. I say we lock it back up. Nothing in here is necessary for us. It would only be tempting..."

Akihiko disagreed, "Why bother? That might only ignite our already volatile situation. If our one and only leader doesn't even trust us, what hope do we have of working together?"

"The risk is too high," Nico opined, "Safety is the most important thing here. Whether they like my choices or not, I have to do what's best for all of us."

I didn't know Nico all that well, so I asked, "Nico... If you care so much, why is it that you seem an arm's length away from us? You're not like the others."

Akihiko added, "Yeah, you seem pretty concerned for us, but like... You don't talk about your feelings. It feels all businesslike with you. Formal."

"I've played many a mystery game on my youtube channel," he started, "I know tropes, stereotypes, basic rules. The second I get attached, everyone I love dies. Steins; Gate, the first two killing games, Corpse Party. I'm only still alive because of my rules."

"Rules? What do you mean?" I inquired further, "What are you not telling us?"

Nico tried to explain in detail, "I'm good at solving mysteries. Problem; potential murderers should want to kill me. I get too friendly, dead. I separate from the group, dead. I be an altruist, dead. I look out for only myself, dead. I have to balance my personality out with you all, to not stand out too often. So far, I've succeeded."

Akihiko shook his head in frustration, "Are you serious? What kind of bad luck voodoo bullshit is that? This is real life, man, not some story. Don't fake it. Be yourself," he thought on that, "I mean, say worse comes to worse. Wouldn't you want us to die knowing the real you?"

Nico hushed up at that point before looking around the room one last time, as if he had noticed something we had yet to observe. Eventually, he nodded, "Maybe you have a point... We have to go meet up with the others. Granberia, when we get out, lock this back up."

I nodded, and we stepped outside of the metalworks where I quickly locked the chain back onto the door as we slowly walked up the incline towards the dorm room hallway.

Satoshi and Kibou met us outside the dorm rooms. One the left side were five rooms, four on the right. The five rooms to the left, in order from closest to farthest; Nico B, Akihiko, Emiko, Takeshi, and Granberia. The four on the right, in order from closest to farthest; Kenji, Hanako, Satoshi, and Kibou.

Two red lights were on outside Takeshi and Emiko's doors, reminding us of our losses.

Satoshi announced, "Hey, guys. So, each room is catered to us and our talents. We both have heating systems installed, to keep us warm. There are vent shafts, but there's no entrances in our rooms. Probably since they'd typically be heated. Kibou thinks it's for our safety."

"There weren't any gender differences. All of our bathrooms have locks, and the doors can only be opened from the outside with our handbooks. So we need to keep track of them now more than ever," Kibou held out hers as an example, "There's a door at the back, it's locked. The exit. Apparently, if five of us scan our handbooks, we can leave, but the two remaining people get killed."

Nico sweated a bit the second he heard that tidbit, "Do not tell the others, then. We need to keep this a secret."

"If you don't tell them and Monokuma does it later, they'll just think you planned to leave them," I interjected, "You have to tell them or else it'll be used against you."

"Tell us what?" Hanako's question was normal, but the timing caused Nico to erupt into a terrified scream as he jumped into Satoshi's open arms, "Oh, sorry..."

Kenji followed up behind her, "You know you're pretty quiet, eh, Hanako? I told you so."

Kibou pouted and nudged Satoshi, "Hey, you're only supposed to hold me like that."

Nico jumped to his feet and addressed his collar, "Right, sorry. The dorms have been investigated; each is catered to our tastes, it seems. We need our handbooks to get inside, so you absolutely have to take them every time you leave. The door at the end..." He hesitated.

"Five of us scan our handbooks and can leave," I finished for him, "The other two left behind die."

Monokuma jumped out from behind us, "Oh, right! The only other way out is to murder someone! Else. Someone else. A minimum of two people have to die, so one by murder, and cone by trial! Or two by murder, if the Blackened is so inclined. Whether the second be themselves or someone else. Just know, I will interfere with the evidence!"

Nico clenched his fist, "No way, bear. We'll stay strong. We'll reconvene with the others and then we'll eliminate your masters one by one, got it!?"

"Upupupupu! If you say so!" He put his paw towards us, pointing to Nico, "Let's see if you can do better than Satoshi did!"

Satoshi's brow furrowed, and he walked towards Monokuma, "I didn't fail them. My powers don't work on Ultimates, so? I'm not like Soshun... Dying off so easily. I'm not like Munakata, the pompous jerkass. No, I have a heart. I trusted my friends, and that is _never_ a mistake."

"A broken heart," Monokuma rebuttled, "Arrhythmia. Pro tip, guys. Mess with his meds, kill him with ease."

I insulted him, "Picking on the disabled now? Monokuma does take the short bus to school."

"And in the best seat!" Monokuma replied before waddling off down the hallway.

"So, that was awkward," Kenji commented, "As for our report, it'd be best if we just showed you guys."

Kenji led the six of us down the left hallway, and it curved around along a series of pipes. There were a couple of valves, and steam was erupting from a couple of less-secured areas of the structure. Eventually, it came to a huge giant metallic monster that we assumed was the boiler. It had no opening, but it seemed to be working overtime right now. On it was a temperature gauge; 24.4 degrees Celsius, or 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

"So this is what's heating our area, hm?" Nico offhandedly commented, "If that's all that's here..." he walked towards the edge of the hallway, where the ladder was, leading down to the metalworks, "Yep, what we suspected."

The seven of us traversed back to the dorm hallway and into the lounge, where we found a refrigerator, a conventional oven, a microwave, and shelves containing plates, bowls, and other things. There was no sign of a dishwasher or a sink, though, so we decided to wash them in our own bathrooms as needed.

Nico observed the situation and mentally thought up plans, "Kibou, can you make food?"

Kibou nodded, "As needed."

"Help teach Hanako," Satoshi suggested, "So we can have someone in reserves."

Hanako asked, "You'd really help teach me?"

"Of course, Hanako!" Kibou clasped her hands in Hanako's, "I'd love to!"

Akihiko smiled to himself, and I slowly inched towards him, "Happy about something?"

"I guess it's nice to see us normal again, working together. Last time was so damned dramatic, so... Intense. It's good to get a break from the stress," Akihiko admitted, blushing a bit, "Besides, I can't stay down forever. Mayu, Kaz, Emiko, they'd want me to move forward with my head held high."

Nico looked back at Aki, but turned back to the others, "Glad to hear morale is up. Dinner will be at 6 PM sharp every night. Anything else that we need to cover?"

"Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an an announcement to make..." Monokuma's voice surprised us until we noticed monitors in the lounge and above our dorms in the hallway,"Gooooood evening, everyone! It is now 10 PM. Nothing will be locked off in these areas, but it is now night time. Remember to sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"Damn, it's already that late?" Kenji sounded annoyed, "Better not miss my soaps."

Aki just stared incredulously at him, "What?"

A lit light bulb appeared over his head, "Oh, that gives me an idea! I better get the plans drawn up!" Kenji ran off to his room in an excited sprint, leaving us in the lounge.

"We're all going back to our rooms then, I guess," Nico dryly stated, "Lights out, then. Tomorrow, breakfast will be after the morning announcement like always. I'll see if I can make something for us."

With that, the rest of us all retired to our rooms. Inside mine, I felt a bit embarrassed. The tiling in my bathroom was brick red, a soothing color to me. I enjoyed the style of older American cities against a backdrop of hope and dreams.

House with a picket fence, a couple of kids, a loving husband, and the freedom to do what I love... Something I'd been sorely lacking most of my life. Inside the room were photos, photos of some of the beautiful places I'd traveled to as a Togami, each one bringing back pristine memories of the few good parts of my youth.

Seating myself on the bed, I pulled out the one object I'd had since childhood, the Swiss Army Knife my uncle had given me. He was my only extended family, and he was kind to me despite my mother's cruel and harsh rules and regulations.

The knife had scissors, a switchblade, a toolkit, and other things that could be of use to me. Luckily, I had one other precious thing to me now. I felt a familiar warmth in my heart as I traced my fingers over the golden ring I had put on my ring finger. Thoughts of Shinji came to mind, and in that peaceful state, I fell asleep at the edge of my bed, falling back onto the velvet sheets.

 **Monokuma Theater 13#**

Monokuma appeared before us on stage once more, "The second group finally gets time to shine! Isn't that great!? Who else will die in this one chapter!? I dunno! Cool, right!? Yes, yes, this is why they call me the most innovative bear in Despair history!"

Monokuma clapped his hands together, "Anyways, this will be fun! One week, including today. If they're not saved by then, well..."

Monokuma was on a monitor that also functioned as a television, a flat screen across from my bed, "Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make...Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Not that any of you can enjoy it! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling. My body felt much heavier than normal, as if someone was sitting on top of me. I felt tired, bags under my eyes. I had had nightmares again.

Out in the dark night, a small bit of food in my hands as a gang ran after me. Searching for me, intending to abuse me, to use me, to sell me off as a slave. Even though I watched them die, the Grave Dangers remained on my mind. The disgusting, sick look of their leader... I shuddered, like the room temperature had dropped dramatically.

I had felt so powerless, so vulnerable, and that same feeling was back, forming a lump in the back of my throat. I wanted to live, to escape. I wanted out of this fucking game already! I jumped up off the bed and punched the wall in front of me, my fist crushing the drywall and wood in its path.

I ripped my arm out of the wall, pieces of it crumbling before me. Reluctantly, I set about to patching the wall up before Monokuma tried to punish me.

It took up quite a while, but I was confident in my repair skills. I'd been forced to renovate old buildings to make them livable in the past, so it wasn't anything new to me. The work distracted me from that nasty feeling that lingered inside of me, as I hoped Shinji and the others were doing well.

I was quite late to the lounge due to my own issues, but the others treated me no differently, "Hey, Granberia," Kibou smiled and ran over to my side, leading me to the table she and Satoshi were using, "Glad to see you, sleepy head."

I stared back at her with a vacant expression, "Has food been served yet?"

Kenji snickered, "To the point, huh?" He and Hanako were lounging at the other table with Akihiko, "Me want food. Me jungle woman."

"Don't tempt me," I joked.

"Hah, what, gonna murder me? And what about the trial, huh?" Kenji mocked me, but I had a quip prepped.

"No trial if they never find your body," I stared into his glasses when I said that, a sinister grin on my face.

Hanako chuckled, "I don't know about that. Kenji's pretty good at drawing attention to himself."

Satoshi jumped into the conversation as well, "To a frightening degree. That being said, what are you thinking on, Granberia? You're not a girl of many words."

I thought about it, "I say what I think is necessary. Why would I waste time with conversation fluff? Our lives are painfully short, you know? And sometimes, just being together is enough communication."

Nico butted in, "Breakfast is ready. Um, guys? Anyone else going to help me deliver?"

Akihiko appeared behind him, "Ready to help." Nico screamed and jumped into Satoshi's arms once again, "Oh, my. Did I do that?"

"Stop it, Urkel!" Nico yelled once he stopped his feet from shaking, "It's not funny. I can't handle scary shit, alright?"

Kibou grinned, almost maliciously, "Oh, is that so? I have a fun idea for later, then."

Nico gulped before handing Akihiko a plate, "Come on, help me already."

After breakfast, Nico offered to set up any group events if we had requests, but none of us did. Kenji spewed his usual conspiracy theories about how Kibou and I were planning to torture the guys in our grasp. He wasn't wrong this time.

Kibou came up with an amusing plan that involved me inviting Akihiko, Nico, and Satoshi to the boiler room that night.

There was a projector there now, and Kibou had a film reel set up and everything. It was running, but she had yet to place the film in it yet. She had set up a place for us to sit, and offered us overly salty popcorn and some drinks.

I quietly drank my White Out Mountain Condensation, the cool, crisp white drink hitting the spot. I was next to Akihiko, so I asked, "Know what this is about?"

"Nah, Kibou wouldn't say. Just said we'd get a kick out of it," Aki answered me, "If you get scared, I don't mind if you cling to me."

"I'm only into girlier guys, sorry," I replied.

Aki laughed, "Obviously. And manly girls, too. Nari said as much."

Blushing, I smacked him in his chest, my hand bouncing effortlessly off of his abs, "Rude."

"Hanako, I'd rather not. Clearly, it's a trap by that deadly vixen!" Kenji argued with her just around the corner, only somewhat audible from where we were.

Hanako continued dragging him around the corner despite his insistence he not go, "No backtalk, mister. You need to get out of your room every once in awhile."

Kenji continued to whine and mope to no avail, and Hanako and he sat behind Akihiko and I, with Kenji folding his arms and pouting like a spoilt child the entire time. They were cute together. I shipped it.

Kibou took her place beside the film screen, a sinister smirk on her face, "I finally decided to show you guys one of my favorite films. It's a low-budget horror movie, but I think the effects are top notch for such a small team. I'm a horror reader and movie buff, if you didn't know. Read all the classics, so I know quality."

"Yeah, I believe that," Kenji scoffed, earning him a swift nudge from Hanako, who glared at him to be respectful, "Yes, dear."

Kibou didn't break her facade as she lowered her voice and, flashlight in hand, lit it up, casting a sinister shadow on her face and the wall behind her, "This is a lovely little horror story... A tale of love, of wonder... The Tale of the Serial Lover."

"Tch, sounds like Shinji," I muttered. What was he up to right now? Probably being a manwhore, I nodded to myself.

The movie began without a credits sequence, and soon got into the main story. The lead, a girl named Tori, had fallen in love with one of her more respected classmates.

One day, she received a note to meet him after school by the back entrance near the forest, only to be ruthlessly attacked when a masked intruder with a scythe in hand tried to kill her.

The mask was notable in that it looked cheap and unfinished, with eye sockets carved in by some sharp implement, though the only color one could see through it was black. As if the killer had black eyes. The mask itself was a typical ghoulish mask, white plastic with an elongated mouth formed into a terrifying smile.

The intruder, later suspected to be a local serial murderer, a girl with a penchant for ritualistic murders, escaped just as one of the teachers came to investigate, finding Tori wounded and crying, unable to even talk.

One by one, the heroine's closest friends and family were butchered in a series of horrific, increasingly gruesome murder scenes, each one shot from various angles and with top notch special effects. In the end, she confronted the killer and stabbed her with her own scythe.

Before she was able to escape her house into the dark night, the killer attacked her one last time, leaving her corpse in the driveway. Then she stalked off into the forest, whistling a childish tune to herself. 'Pop Goes the Weasel' was also being played by a piano in the background, bringing chills down my spine.

The lights finally came back on, and Nico, who seemed paler than ever before, shot up to his feet, "Alright, that was... Interesting. Um, fuck that. I'm going to bed. Nope, nope, nope."

"But Nico-" Kibou whined, wanting to get his opinion, "What did you think?"

He turned back, "I think I've got plenty of things to do in life, and I'm not going to waste time here."

Just like that, he scurried back to his room, sweating heavily the whole way. Was it fear or how hot it was? Even I began to notice the heat in the air was slightly more intense than before.

Satoshi was the first of us to speak up, "Well, Kibou, that'll haunt my nightmares forever. Fuckin' hell..." his hands were shaking, his face whiter than a sheet, "Why... Why!?"

"Why what, Satoshi?" Akihiko stood up, confused, "Are you feelin' alright?"

Satoshi pushed him away, "Oh... Sorry, I... Yeah, just, it gave me a migraine."

I didn't buy that for a second.

Kenji clutched Hanako's side, tears in his eyes, "Don't l-leave me... Hanako. I'm...scared."

Hanako smiled down at him and gently patted his head, "It's okay, Kenji. I'll sleep with you tonight."

Akihiko jokingly whistled, "Good luck, guys. Remember to keep the lights off."

"It wasn't funny the first time you said it!" Kenji growled back at him.

After the rest of us dispersed, I shadowed Satoshi. Instead of going to his room, where Nico had gone, he headed down to the metalworks. He unlocked the door with his ring of keys and went inside.

Curious as to his intentions, I stalked him, unlocking the door and sneaking inside. I continued shadowing him just out of his sight as he opened a bottle of pills and took two, cursing under his own breath, "...What... What did we even watch? God..."

He leaned up against a barrel, whispering to himself in a calm tone, the fear clear as day on his face as he shook every few seconds, "No, forget it."

Seeing he had decided to leave, I quickly exited the room before him, rushing to my room unseen. Back inside my room, I contemplated what I had seen.

Satoshi had keys to unlock the metalworks. Makes sense, since he held onto them. Nico might want to know.

That being said, I felt uneasy. I gripped my Swiss army knife in my free hand and moved it around in my hands. I had to keep this on me, just in case. I had this foreboding feeling, like we crossed a line of no return.

After hearing the announcement, I curled up into a ball, too frightened to go to sleep.

 **Monokuma Theater 14#**

Monokuma smiled on stage, "So let's talk about something grim dark. I mean serial killers. Everyone hears of the greatest ones on the news, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, and more. But what are the chances of meeting one? Well, let's find out."

"In the modern era, or rather, while you've been alive, sixteen serial killers have been confirmed, arrested, and convicted in Japan. That's a whole lot, considering each one killed a minimum of three people in three separate incidents. That's at least 48 people. Scary, right?" The audience had murmurs of agreement.

Monokuma smirked, "Well, before the world fell into despair, we found a startling trend. Serial killers were on the rise in Japan, as compared to years prior. Oh, we've always had mass killers and spree killers, but serial killers are a different breed. Charismatic, smart, charming; just like me!"

"A good example would be a crime with staggering statistics in gun violence and serial murderers. In the US, they have at least 67% of all confirmed serial killers in the world. That doesn't include all the 'possible' serial killers, so that number might be higher!" Monokuma laughed, "So 1 in 128 people will encounter a serial killer in the US. Isn't that terrifying!?"

The curtains closed on the show with that same sinister grin from Monokuma.

I awoke with a headache. The clock placed precariously on the edge of the bedside table showed the time: 10:15. Late again, am I? Fashionably so, I thought to myself as I took off my sweatshirt and changed my clothes. A yellow blouse and my favorite mini skirt, a crimson red that Shinju had picked out for me.

I never really cared much for my looks before. For obvious reasons.

I kicked the door open and stepped on through, handbook in my handbag I found in my closet. I didn't want to openly carry it, and it just made it easier on me in general. I walked over to the lounge, to find everyone was gone.

Sitting by myself, I was eventually joined by Kenji and Hanako, who seemed like they were arguing, "I didn't mean to scare you, Kenji! I swear!"

"I know, I know, okay? But it... I just don't feel all that great, okay?" Kenji wiped his brow, "I'm all sweaty now, disgusting."

Akihiko walked up behind them and chuckled, "Too much info."

Kenji raised his fist, "Hey, that's not what I meant, you ass!"

Satoshi interrupted their argument, "Enough, my headache is still intense. Quiet down."

Kibou stepped out from his room and laughed, "Oh, Satoshi. Take aspirin like I asked."

"No thanks," Satoshi waved his hand at her, "Not so soon after my other medications."

"Right... Sorry, Satoshi, I just wanted to help," Kibou frowned and glanced at the floor.

Satoshi patted her head, "No need to be sorry, Kibou. I know you're looking out for me."

Kibou perked up pretty quickly. I wouldn't mind headpats right now, though Shinji's not here. Knowing that, I sighed. Why couldn't I have like five girlfriends like he did?

Then again, for all my teasing, I was the idiot who fell in love with the guy. I'd introspect on that later, though.

That shifted to the back of my mind when I saw our benefactor and the traitor. Kiyo, in his Future Foundation suit, walked alongside Monokuma towards us, "Having fun, are we?"

The seven of us focused our attention on the intruder, "You. Our boss for this area?" Akihiko asked, taking point and attempting to intimidate our enemy.

"Ah, ah, you know the rules. Before the trial is won, you all can't harm me," Kiyo calmly brushed Akihiko off, "Fuuko gets the good team, and I end up with these washouts. Good grief..."

Monokuma hopped up and down in place like an impatient child, "Can I tell them!? Can I tell them!?"

Kiyo rolled his eyes, "Whatever you will, you damned nuisance."

Monokuma pumped his fist in excitement, "Alright! So guys, you might have noticed it's been getting hotter in here. That's no accident! The rules are simple; today is the third day. By the dawn of the seventh day, it will be boiling water levels of hot here! Exciting, right!? Though you'd all be dead by... mid day six? Unless you're lucky."

"What!?" Nico exclaimed, "You can't be serious!?"

"Deadly serious," Monokuma's joking tone ceased, and he glared at us with vitriol and hate, one befitting of an Ultimate Despair creation, "Kill someone else and either save yourself or die for the others. I couldn't really care!"

Aki queried, "And if we rightfully refuse?"

Kiyo answered him, "You will all die. No skin off our nose. Only one of you is suspected to be a possible choice for Ultimate Despair's real member, anyways. We'll cut our losses rather favorably."

Hanako yelled at him, "That's not even fair! Why do you keep doing this to us!?"

"Justice," Kiyo quickly justified his own cruelty, "I am going to save the world. You all can ride backseat to my heroism, understood?"

Kenji shook his head, "Pompous prick. Let's ignore 'em."

Kiyo just smiled knowingly and walked away with Monokuma at his side. He proceeded out the other doorway which closed behind him rapidly.

"That was foreboding," Nico remarked, "I suggest we retire to our quarters and think carefully on this."

"What is there to think about!?" Akihiko punched the wall in a fit of rage, "We're basically fucked. Someone has to take one for the team."

Hanako refused, "Absolutely not! Killing our friends is wrong, Akihiko!"

Akihiko held his forearm against the wall, not moving his fist, "I just want to make it clear. I'm not dying here. I will do what I feel is necessary."

"Okay, there's no need to-" Satoshi tried to intervene, stepping in between the two of them.

Hanako pushed him aside and slapped Akihiko, "You will not!"

Kenji reached out for Hanako, "Hey, don't let Private Dick Cheese get us all riled up, okay? Hanako, what are you even-"

"I can do this on my own, Kenji! I don't need you to hold my hand all the time!" Hanako barked back at him, "Do you think I'm some fragile little girl!? I... I can handle this!"

"Hey, I never-"

Hanako cut him off, "Never what!? Coddled me!? Acted all knowing!? Trying to protect me all the time!? Do you think I'm that hopeless!? Am I just a charity case to you!? Why won't you treat me like everyone else!?"

Kenji grumbled under his breath, "Damn it, I'm just... I love you."

"Love isn't an excuse for your bullshit." Hanako ended the conversation with that, Kenji slumping behind Kibou.

Hanako then turned back on Aki, still in stupor from her slap, "You kill someone... I'll never forgive you. Please... Aki...Promise me."

Akihiko leaned up against the wall, a crude smirk on his face, "Alright, fine. As you wish. Just hope you know what you're asking."

I had already began moon walking out of the entire awkward scene by then, and made my way to the metalworks. Unlocking the door again, I grabbed the chain and dragged it inside with me. Not getting locked out, that's for sure.

I walked around inside and eventually decided to inspect the area for more clues. I didn't find any, of course, and eventually fell asleep inside, slumped next to the chain on the floor.

I stirred before finally falling over and hitting the floor. My eyes shot open as the heat hit me. It was hotter now than before, though it was a metalworks to begin with. I grabbed the chain next to me. Great, no one had messed with it. I thanked my lucky stars and got to my feet.

My handbag still had my handbook inside, so I figured I'd be safe to go to my room and sleep.

That was when I felt the presence. An eerie presence, one both foreign and yet all too familiar to me. I didn't get a chance to think on it before the mysterious visitor had slashed through the air just where my head was.

Dropping down low, I kicked their feet out from under them and leaped through the air back away from them. The masked intruder was familiar; the bastard was dressed up like the murderer from Kibou's movie.

"A copycat killer? How pathetic..." I commented, "And that mask? Bet you look better with it on."

The killer grunted and raised their scythe, not uttering a reply. Of course not. They want to keep their identity hidden. But why? And why don this disguise? It points to Kibou oh so clearly. They must be trying to frame her. And killing me, the odd one out here? Alright, fair play.

I pulled out my Swiss army knife and switched it to the knife attachment, "Bring it, bitch."

We had ourselves a nice little Mexican stand-off before we both jumped forward. Their farming scythe nearly pierced my hand when I blocked it with my knife. I kicked them in the chest, rushing my knife forward.

They tried to dodge, but I was faster. I sliced right through their leg, causing blood to splatter from their clothes. The hole in their black robes made it difficult for them to walk around in, but still they remained undercover.

"Do you not mind dying? I'll kill you if this keeps up..." The killer tilted their head at me, "Damn right. I'm not some weak girl to be made a victim. I made a promise to Shinji!"

The two of us clashed again, and they chuckled, their voice distorted, "Oh, you did? But if you kill me, you know the consequences."

I sliced towards their neck, forcing them to jump back, "Hey, according to Kiyo, only us are at risk here. I'd be willing to let the six of you die. If I have to, I won't lose sleep about it."

"What!?"

"Do you think I'm above killing to live? When I stole food from poor children just to survive, I condemned them to death! Do you think I won't do the same here!?"

"Yo-you're bluffing!"

Gripping my knife tightly, I smirked, "Is that worth the gamble!?"

We both clashed again, my knife clanging against their scythe once and again. Neither of us were compromised, and they were certainly impressive to hold their own against me. Unfortunately for them, I was better.

I jumped back and switched to another attachment, the machete attachment. I swiped forward and stabbed them in the arm, forcing them to drop their scythe.

Backing up and bleeding, they grabbed the scythe with their other hand, shaking the entire time, "You..."

"Damn right," I laughed, "Did you think the Ultimate Thief such an easy mark!?" I screamed at her, the rage boiling inside me, "You fuckin' cretin! No better than the Grave Dangers! A worthless neophyte, fit to die by the blade!"

The killer must have been scared, as discernible in their body language. Desperate, frightened, back against the wall, they did the only reasonable thing. They turned and ran.

Once they slammed themselves through the metalworks door and ran down to the dorms, I wiped the blood off of my machete and grimaced, "Should have followed them, but..." I felt my leg, which had been cut by her scythe. It was aching, and I felt my consciousness fading. I needed to prevent the bleeding from getting any worse.

I stumbled forward before passing out ot the floor, unable to remain conscious.

 **Monokuma Theater 15#**

Monokuma reappeared on stage with a sly grin, "You know, I've always wondered why I do these. You guys would rather something else to break the pacing, right? But wait; that denies you more of me! So obviously this is the best choice!"

The audience booed, and Monokuma ignored them, "I'm absolutely imperative for the quality of this work! That being said, I've been in the background a lot for this story! Don't worry kiddos..." Monokuma's red eye gleamed as the stage went dark, "I will bring despair myself. The others, they mean nothing."

A familiar and aggravating noise awoke me from my pain-induced slumber, "Ahem... Hope's Peak Academy's Resort Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make...Gooooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful, sun-filled day! Not that any of you can enjoy it! Now then, let's make sure to show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!"

I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling of one of the dorm rooms. What? How did I get here?

The time said... 6:45 AM. I tried to move, but my body still felt heavy. I noticed my savior sleeping next to me; Hanako was breathing faintly and clutching my side. That's why I felt so heavy, I realized.

I moved my hand under the covers and felt my thigh. It had been bandaged carefully, so she must have done a good job for me. But what about the killer!? What about the intense heat I was feeling!? What about the others!?

I tried to get up, a struggle that lasted a few minutes. I was interrupted by the alarming sound of a bell ringing. I clutched my ears to ignore it, but it continued for a few minutes. When it finally ended, Hanako, who had finally awoken, tried to leave the room. But the door refused to change... its position, remaining locked.

"Hanako... What happened to me...?"

Hanako, seeing no other way to leave, jumped up on the bed, "Kenji found you. We had argued again, and he stormed off. He came back to me in a panic, and led me here. He was... really concerned for you. In fact, it's the fifth day. You were out for a long time."

That explained the heat, "What about the... bastard that attacked me? I was mauled by that killer."

"We had a group meeting, but no one confessed to it," Hanako sighed, "Who had attacked you, or why. Nico identified the kind of wound, so we deduced someone had attempted a copycat killing, but beyond that... There's no conclusive evidence."

With that, we both sat in silence for the next hour. By the time it was around 7:58, the doors clicked. Seizing the opportunity, I jumped to my feet, "Hanako, we need to go, now! Those alarms... Someone might have been murdered!"

Hanako screamed back at me, "What!?"

I pushed the door open and observed the dorm hallway. No one else was out yet, "Hanako, get the others. I'll investigate!"

"But you're injured!"

"If the guy that attacked me killed someone else, it's partly my fault, too. For letting them live," I clenched my hands in anger, "Just do what I asked."

I tore off down the hallway, ignoring the pain in my leg. I headed to the boiler area first, just because it led to the metalworks anyways and shortened the trip.

Near the corner of the turned hallway, I noticed a blowtorch, and a hole that had been blasted or burned though. Oh, no...

Running past it, I saw the remains of the boiler, in pieces everywhere as if shattered, rocked by an explosion that bordered on nuclear. Pieces of the walls and scaffolding nearby had been ruined in the wreckage.

I tripped and fell, painfully grabbing my thigh as I rose to my feet and peered over the edge. What I saw... What I saw would never be forgotten.

"Hey... Hey, are you alright!?" I slid down the ladder and ran over to the first thing I saw on that wreckage-covered floor. I grabbed Kenji by his green shirt and shook him, "Get up, dumbass!" Tears flowed down my face as he didn't move, didn't yell at me to stop touching him. He couldn't be...

Kenji finally stirred, and his eyes opened as he pulled off his glasses and gazed up at me, "...Granberia? When did you- Gah!"

Kenji reached down towards his knee, which had been impaled by glass and shards of wood, "Fuck! That... that really hurts..."

I helped him sit up, "Kenji... Thank God. What happened!?"

"I don't... know what time it was. I came out here to fix... The boiler. If I could just turn it off... None of us would die," Kenji choked, "I wanted to...save us."

"Then what?"

Kenji pointed to the other victim in this mess, "She..."

I looked over and felt my heart drop.

Kibou Iwata, a dear friend, the Ultimate Speedreader, was sprawled on the floor as if she had been crushed by the wreckage. She was covered in bits of wood and glass, and her dead eyes peered towards the metalworks.

Her neck was twisted at an odd angle, and she was... broken. Torn up, clothes ripped up and bleeding wounds all over her body.

I felt sick to my stomach, but before I could comment on that, Akihiko, Hanako, and Satoshi ran forward, "Guys, what happened!?" Akihiko saw Kibou and stopped dead in his tracks. Hanako screamed in disgust and fear, falling into Nico, who caught her before she tumbled to the ground.

Satoshi walked forward, closing the distance to Kibou's broken body. He wasn't crying yet, wasn't screaming yet. He just looked dead, hollow, as if the last bit of humanity in him had died.

He crumpled in front of her, bending his knees awkwardly as he looked over her corpse. For a brief moment, he clasped his hands together in prayer. As the body discovery announcement played, he continued praying there.

Once he had finished, he stood up, turned towards us all, and walked towards us, hunched over. Before we could say anything, in tears, he whispered, barely audible, "Why...Her...? Why...?"

He collapsed to the floor in front of us, just sobbing into the floor, unable to speak any longer.

We had born witness to despair just then, and a killer was amongst us. Who could it be!? Who would have done it!? Why did it have to be Kibou!?


	31. Ch 3B: Boiling Point, Deadly Life

**Deadly Life: START**

I looked down at myself in that brief moment of clarity and realization. Kibou Iwata was dead and one of us had killed her. Was it the attacker? Or someone else? And why did they do it!? How did that bastard Kiyo tempt them!?

I wished damnation on whoever the Blackened was as I opened up my handbook and checked the file. My jaw dropped when it read Monokuma File 4#.

"Four!? What about the third one!?" I exclaimed in my surprise, the others focusing their attention on me.

Monokuma laughed, "Oh, right... The other team had a double victim murder! Their trial is going to happen real soon! So get to investigating! You'll be reunited if you live..."

Once Monokuma was out of my sight, my eyes slowly shifted back to the electronic handbook. I began reading the content bit by bit.

Monokuma File 4#: The victim is Kibou Iwata. There are numerous cuts and scrapes scattered haphazardly across her body and burn marks on her left hand. Her cause of death was loss of blood due to heavy organ punctures. Her ribs are shattered from the impact of whatever landed on her, and there is serious, heavy internal bleeding. Her neck was broken on impact but merely paralyzed her. Her death was at 6:57 AM.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Monokuma File 4# has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

I nearly puked. We had seen some gruesome shit before, but this took it up a notch. As if to confirm that point, I saw Akihiko retch, and Nico dropped to his knees before vomiting onto the floor, "Oh, god! That's fucking terrible!" Nico squeaked in disgust and sadness.

I stepped up towards the poor, broken girl, and felt my heart drop. Damn, but this wasn't okay, "We need to post guards. The killer this time cannot be forgiven," Satoshi grabbed our attention with that firm statement, "I have to... I need to catch the fucker that did this, so... Who of us did it, huh!?"

Akihiko walked towards him, trying to calm him down, "Satoshi, please. Now is not the time for fighting between us!"

"...Do you even grasp... what I feel?" Satoshi demanded an answer from him, "Huh, you pompous douchebag!? Can you put a price on what she meant to me!? No!"

Hanako interrupted him, "Satoshi, stop. Please. We're stressed enough as it is!"

Satoshi glared at her, "Really? If this had been Kenji-"

"Don't say that!" Her voice cracked just thinking about it.

Satoshi pointed at the wounded Kenji, "It almost happened! Look at him! What if the killer tries to... To finish what they started!?"

Kenji, still grabbing his shattered right arm, grimaced in pain as he held it to stem the blood loss, "Uh, Hanako? First aid? Medic, please...? I know we got into a fight but-"

Hanako cut him off with a gentle peck on his cheek before holding him up by his pants loops, "I'll help you walk. We'll head straight to my room. Everyone else, try your best on the investigation."

Nico sighed, watching them walk away as he wiped his chin clean, "Damn it... Satoshi, Akihiko. You two watch the body. Granberia and I will handle the investigation this time."

I looked over at him, "We will?"

"Yes, we will," Nico stressed his words, "You're the only one fit to do so. Everyone else is losing their cool right now." He highlighted the perfect example, as Satoshi was crying into his hands while 'watching' Kibou's body.

Okay, I guess that makes sense, "Is that all, though? Aren't you choosing me because my alibi is rock solid? I was unconscious during the murder, you know. Hanako can confirm it for me."

Nico smirked a bit, but quickly returned to his serious face, "No idea what you mean. I just felt like choosing you."

"Whatever you say," I sarcastically replied, folding my arms and striking a defiant pose, "You're a shit liar."

"I know," Nico glumly responded, "So, first objective. Investigate the body."

The two of us walked over to Kibou's body, though I hesitated. I must have still been in shock at the cruelty of it.

"Clearly, what we can infer is that..." Nico gazed to the ladder, "Someone set the boiler off, made it explode. The blast knocked Kenji and Kibou down here, and something landed on Kibou. She died, and Kenji blacked out. Then the killer removed whatever landed on her... and what else?"

I was already climbing the ladder, each rung making a loud metallic noise as I struggled up with my still-wounded self.

Nico faced where I was, "What do you-" he cut himself and shot a glance in several directions before locking in on me, "Hey, wait up!" He sprinted to the ladder and swiftly climbed up behind me.

"Don't fall," I quipped, finally reaching the top of the ladder. As I took my foot off of the highest rung, a metallic bang scared me, and the whole ladder's right side came off of the wall, sending Nico back to the floor.

"Ow! My ass!" Nico stood back up, rubbing his backside, "Damn ladder... Of course Monokuma's too cheap for better welding."

I sighed a breath of relief that he hadn't been seriously injured, "Nico, for the love of... I'll check out the boiler. You talk to Satoshi and Akihiko. Get their accounts of what they say happened and meet me at the dorms, okay?"

Nico saluted me, "Roger."

Without a word, I closed the distance between me and the remains of the boiler. The side facing the ladder had blown out, definitely enough to propel the duo to the ground below.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! The Boiler was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

What caused the explosion, though? I couldn't see anything to have ignited it. Then I remembered, and with that memory, I solemnly walked to the corner. There, I found the blowtorch. The pipe next to it was melted inwards, a clear sign of tampering.

Would this be a way to cause the explosion? By heating the air inside, it could have caused the pressure to overload the systems, and it would then combust near the pipes.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Sabotaged Pipe was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

I inspected the blowtorch. It was your typical blowtorch, nothing unique about it. It was a sickly lime green color, and thanks to that, I noticed one thing... off about it. The smallest drops of blood were right where the handle was, barely detectable by even my keen eyes. I wiped my fingers through it; it had dried, so it wasn't too recent. Whoever used this blowtorch was bleeding at the time, but why?

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Blowtorch was added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

That was when it hit me. How did someone get a hold of the blowtorch? The metalworks was locked by that damn padlock when we weren't inside. I'd have to investigate that. If someone had unchained it...

I sighed, thinking on what I had found so far. Someone had gone into the metalworks and retrieved a blowtorch. Whoever the killer was, they were bleeding at the time.

I continued investigating the area, hoping to find more conclusive evidence. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any. Time to see what Nico managed to dig up... Walking past the dorms, I could tell he'd not yet finished talking to Satoshi and Akihiko, so it was back to the metalworks I went.

Nico was still talking to Satoshi when I arrived back by the metalworks. I walked up to Akihiko, "Akihiko? Are you alright?"

He faced me, a reluctant smile on his face, "Uh, I think so," as he rubbed the bottom of his nose, I realized he had bandaging over most of his left hand. When he noticed I was staring, he added, "I hurt my hand. When I punched the wall, remember?"

Right... "So what were you up to?" I tried not to sound suspicious of him, but I'm pretty sure I failed at that.

"Yeah, I expect to be suspected," Akihiko chuckled before deriding himself, "I can come off pretty piss poor, huh? Well, the truth is, I was up late last night thinking on how to save us. I... I wanted to get us out of here alive, no matter the cost."

I asked, "And?"

Akihiko shook his head, "Nothing but murder came to mind. I couldn't betray the group like that, you know? But it ate away at me... Then I heard the body discovery announcements. Two of 'em. For the other group."

So Monokuma wasn't lying about that? "Any ideas who-"

"Not a clue," Akihiko muttered, "When you were out, Hanako was taking care of you for the time being. Kenji and I were hanging out, he asked me for advice. How to make up with her... It's tough. Dating, I mean."

I rolled my eyes, "You know, if you were nicer-"

Akihiko harshly reprimanded me, "Don't start," he laughed after making such a serious face, "Joking, I'm... joking. I didn't know what to say to him, so I just spouted off random nonsense. Told him to lighten up, let her handle her own problems sometimes. Don't act like you'll fix them; she doesn't want that. She wants someone to listen."

"Wise advice, Akihiko," I nodded, understanding what he had told him, "Well, your alibi is nonexistent, and I gathered literally nothing important from what you just told me, but I feel I should thank you regardless."

Akihiko scratched his hair, a single bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face, "Blunt, aren't you?"

Without skipping a beat, I redirected our conversation, "Do you know anything about my attacker? They may have instigated this murder."

"Right, the masked villain. We found that black robe and mask outside the metalworks. Whoever attacked you ditched them right quick," he answered honestly.

"And how was I found, exactly?"

Akihiko thought for a moment, "From what I remember... We met up the morning of day four, and Hanako was gone. Missing. When we knocked on her door, she already had you with her. She said the chain was left unlocked, and she waltzed in and found you."

Interesting. So the killer was able to follow me in with the chain unlocked, but didn't lock it? Why? I couldn't have escaped had they locked it. What reason could they...?

"What happened the night on day four?" I inquired, beginning to form an outline for the killer in my mind.

Akihiko sighed, "Well, Hanako was still taking care of you. Kenji and I discussed how we'd get the damned heat to stop going up. Kibou was trying to keep our spirits up, and Nico was in full panic mode. He ruled you out for the masked assailant, but the rest of us were still suspect to him. He went to bed early and locked himself in."

It clicked. Someone had dressed up as the masked assailant, and they did have a goal in mind. A plan for... murder.

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Akihiko's Account has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

 **Obtained Truth Bullet! Masked Assailant has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook!**

Finally, I asked, "And what did you, Satoshi, and Kibou end up doing?"

Akihiko grimaced, "Well... They got into a huge fight. Argued about something pretty hard. From what I overheard... Kibou had really pissed Satoshi off with that movie from before," he shrugged, "I guess? Ask Satoshi, he was there."

I had the distinct feeling that he wasn't telling me the whole truth, so I kept quiet, "Thanks for the info, Akihiko."

Nico surprised me, "Hey, time to switch off. Satoshi's ready to talk to you as well. He's not very... talkative, though."

I understood what he meant by that, "I'll work my magic."

I blazed a trail to Satoshi, who backed up incrementally as I grew closer, "Satoshi. I don't have time for games or bullshit."

"What do you mea-"

"I've had my suspicions since we saw that film," I began, "The way you reacted was over the top. Pale as a ghost, freaking out. Horror movies wouldn't mess you up that viciously; not if Kibou, the horror movie buff, was your friend for all these years," I knew I could be putting myself into a vulnerable position by bringing this up.

Satoshi refused to give me eye contact, as if ashamed, "So what, then? What do you really think happened?"

I geared myself up for the next part; the greatest accusation I would have to make, "Can you come with me into the metalworks? We need to be discreet about this, I think."

"How about no? I have no reason to go anywhere with you," Satoshi barked. I managed to make him stand down with my fierce glare, "...Sheesh, alright. Fine, fine, I'll humor you."

Satoshi reluctantly followed me towards the metalworks doors, and I opened them. Waiting for him to go in first, I asked, "Nico, stand guard with Akihiko for me. I'm borrowing Satoshi."

Nico waved, "No problem. Just..." he glared at Satoshi, "Be alert."

Satoshi and I entered the metalworks, and the two of us walked into the corner of the room by the blowtorches. Certainly enough, one was missing.

Filing away that piece of intel for later, I interrogated Satoshi, "Why'd the film Kibou show us freak you out?"

Satoshi adjusted his collar, "Listen here, Granberia. I don't intend to be intimidated by the likes of you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I lifted my eyebrow, my interest piqued.

"Your talent? What a disgrace," Satoshi spat, "Disgusting. A filthy thief? I pretended to like you for Shinji's sake, but the truth is that I loathe you..."

I resisted acting on the emotions that were storming inside me, "Really? Even if I never used it for-"

Satoshi yelled, "Bullshit! You don't get scouted for Hope's Peak by not using your talent!" he never said anything like this before, "Everyone else here earned their place amongst my peers. But you... An immoral, worthless bitch who breaks the rules for her own ends!" he took a step towards me, "Kibou told me to give you a chance. Said you might be worth it. And now she's..."

"I didn't kill her," I plainly responded, "I was unconscious."

Satoshi growled, "A fine act. You could have slipped out the second Hanako fell asleep," he continued, losing his cool, "Then you'd have an alibi! You might be a crafty bitch, but I'm smarter than you. I didn't earn the student council presidency by accident!"

Okay, that was it, "No, you earned it because Kibou put your name in the drawing."

"...She what?"

"Shinji told me. Kibou admitted to it," I revealed to him, "Sad, really. To think she wasted her love on someone like you."

Satoshi glared at me when I made that remark, "What did you just say!? You trashy whore! Kibou fell in love with me because I supported her! She didn't fall for some slut of a man with a victim complex!"

I clenched my hands into fists, the rage growing inside of me, "Keep Shinji out of this. Your vendetta is against me."

"Oh, upset I said that?" Satoshi grinned evilly at me, "Why? You both have so much in common. Petty criminals who got off scot free because of your 'talents'. You both disgust me!"

"Shinji killed serial rapists and human traffickers, Satoshi. Are you such a stickler to the rules that-"

Satoshi interrupted me with a harsh slap. I fell back, and he stomped his foot down, "Just looking at you sickens me! Why are you alive when Kibou's dead!?"

I tried to get back to my feet, but he hit me again, much harder this time. I felt my cheek bleeding from how hard he had attacked that time, and he was still not calming down. No, his breathing was growing more laborious, more exaggerated.

I, however, had had enough. I slowly arose, reaching into my pocket and grabbing my weapon of choice.

"What?"

Before he could insult or assault me again, I flashed my swiss army knife. Blade extended, I jumped onto him, piercing his upper thigh as deeply as I could manage. As Satoshi began screaming, I grabbed him by the throat and bashed the wall with him.

With a stranglehold on him, I demanded, "You think I don't know? That you're hiding something? Tell me right now, or else!" Visions flashed in my head of the many times in my life I had been called worthless trash, garbage, all because of my ability. I never wanted it, I never asked for it!

"Or else what, bitch?" Satoshi's smile faded when I twisted the blade in a circle while leaving it lodged in his leg. He let out shrieks of pain, animalistic, terrible sounds.

I gripped his neck slightly harder, "I will castrate you right here. I'll make you wish you'd never opened your mouth."

Satoshi grunted in anger and resistance, "Fuck you."

A hard right knocked him off of his feet. Before he could move, I struck him again, one of his front teeth flying out of his mouth. He began coughing, blood and another tooth falling out of his mouth as I approached him.

Knife in hand, I kneed him hard in the stomach. He collapsed onto his back, and I raised the blade above him, "Do you understand me now?"

"...Y-yes," he stuttered, fear plastered on his face, "I'll... talk."

I grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up, placing the knife I had against his throat, "If you so much as move an inch out of line, I'll color the floors with your insides."

"Alright... Alright!" he finally gave in, not resisting anymore. I dropped him, and he finally confessed, "I... recognized the people in the film."

"What?"

Satoshi screamed at me, "You have bad hearing, bitch!? I knew the people in the fucking film! They went to my actual school! ... They bullied me regularly. All until they ended up in a series of disturbing serial killings," he wiped his lips free of the drops of blood from his mouth, "When I saw that film... I realized. Kibou had killed them; she was the masked killer."

"That's not all, is it?" I demanded to know more.

"I... took it as a sign. That she intended to do it again," Satoshi held his jaw for a moment, wincing in pain, "She was making a statement. That she'd kill for me. So I tried to broker a deal with her. We'd get five people to leave with us. Through the door."

That made sense to me. This way, Kibou wouldn't have to die to save Satoshi, "So you knew she was a fucking killer? That she attacked me!?"

Satoshi smirked up at me, "Duh. Was part of my plan. Kenji got into an argument with Hanako, and stormed off with both of their handbooks. Kibou had hers and mine. We only needed one more person."

"And you chose Akihiko, didn't you? Then to ensure it worked out that way, you had Kibou attack me. That would keep me and Hanako out of interfering. The anxiety also crippled Nico, allowing you to use the handbooks as you pleased."

Satoshi cursed to himself, "It was selfish of me to do, but I justified it. You're a fuckin' thief, and Nico... Well, he was too goody-goody. He'd have turned us down. But Akihiko had to be a fuckin' hero and threaten to rat us out. We shelved the damn plan," he placed one hand on his wounded thigh, thankful the bleeding had stopped, "And when Kibou told me last night she had planned a murder, I bitched her out, of course!"

Suddenly, this made sense to me. Satoshi still loved Kibou despite her killings, so he formulated a plan to keep her from killing for him again. His plan would involve culling me, the 'criminal', and the man who stole his job. Then he'd walk free having helped end the lives of people he disliked.

"You selfish fucking bastard... I should kill you right now," I honestly wanted to, "Who killed Kibou!?"

"I don't know!" Satoshi yelled back at me, tears in his eyes, "I went to my room that night... My plan had bombed! My one true love, revealed to me to be a... a fucking serial killer ended up a victim!"

Well, this was an interesting turn of events. I wiped his blood off of my blade and pocketed it, "Thanks for the confession, Hondo."

I began walking away, leaving him in that state. He yelled at me as I was leaving, "Hey!" I glanced back at him with a vacant expression, "I... This... I was...wrong. I know that. I should have... Stopped Kibou. Not planned to work with her. I know it... Her death is the result of my grave sins..."

I shrugged, "I'm not forgiving you, fuckface." With that, I left him inside, a bleeding, crying mess.

As the metalwork doors closed behind me, I noticed Nico and Akihiko were gone, Kibou's corpse left unattended, "Damnit, Nico. You had one job."

I walked at a brisk pace toward the dormitories, finding Hanako in the hallway, "Granberia, hey!" she ran over to me, "Akihiko took Kenji to have a talk. Do you know anything about that?"

"I... think it's better I let him explain," I couldn't break her heart by revealing what Kenji had considered doing, "I won't do the explanation justice."

Kenji headed down from the boiler room, "Hanako, hey. Akihiko sent me off. He talked about some really cryptic shit," he looked around, "Where's Nico and Satoshi?"

I glanced at Kenji, "Satoshi is busy mourning," I walked to my room, sliding my handbook through the scanner. As the door opened, I looked back, "I'm taking a long, warm bath before this trial."

With that, I entered my bathroom after closing the door behind me. I closed the bathroom door and looked into the mirror. My eyes were puffy, and I had a pale, sickly expression on my face. I undressed myself and slipped into the bathtub, running the hot water. And as it began filling up, I removed my bandages and felt the scar tissue under it. Kibou was that fucked up, huh?

Unable to stop myself, I burst into tears. What Satoshi had said to me... That really fucking hurt. I thought he... I thought they were my friends, but... Kenji, Satoshi, and Kibou had all agreed to let me and Nico die. What kind of sick bullshit is that!?

 **An hour later...**

 ***Ding dong, bing bong***

Monokuma appeared on all of the monitors announcing, "Guys, I think it's the perfect time for the trial! Gather outside the dormitories in a timely manner, okay!?"

I dressed myself at my own pace, not caring to rush out. I didn't even want to go to this trial, honestly. No choice there, though. I opened my door, handbook in one hand and knife in the other. I didn't trust Satoshi anymore, and was ready to reveal his crimes to the others.

In the hallway, no one else was there. Then a shriek rang out, diverting my attention. I charged in the direction of the noise. Down the rampway, the metalwork doors had been left open. Oh, boy... If Satoshi had bled out...

 ***Ding dong, bing bong***

The Body Discovery Announcement played, instantly sending the adrenaline pumping through my veins. My body on high alert, I charged inside the metalworks, only to find the center of the room occupied by an unfortunate truth.

Hanako was slumped in the center of the room, a familiar scythe spiked through the back of her mouth. As the blade peeked out from her horrified face, her head lulled back to show off the kill.

Her entire maid outfit was splattered with blood, but beyond that, she looked just like she had when I had last seen her. Perhaps the most haunting thing about the body, though, was her arms. They were missing.

Oh, fuck...

I fell backwards in pure shock and awe. The ability to communicate had been lost on me, and a bevy of emotions threatened to overcome me at any moment. In front of me. Akihiko, Nico, and Satoshi stood idly by as Kenji screamed and howled in anger and rage.

"Wh...What happened?" I stammered out, barely able to form the words.

Monokuma appeared out of nowhere behind us, "Well, that's absolutely tragic!" Monokuma giggled, "A second Blackened went and did this!"

What? "Is that even possible!?" Nico exclaimed, not expecting that twist.

Monokuma nodded, "Technically, it's never made clearly against the rules. We've just been convenient to only ever have one! That being said, we've got a trial to get to. And since you guys only get one vote... Hmph. Fine. The trial is to find Kibou's killer. We'll focus on that first. This is a two-fer, then."

All of us glanced at each other in confusion and concern, "Uh..." Nico started, "Can you give us more than that?"

Monokuma sighed, shaking his head, "Really, I have to explain this... The trial will be focusing on finding Kibou's killer. Hanako's killer will have to wait."

The rest of us were wordless as Monokuma walked over to Kenji, "Come on, boy. We have a trial to-"

Kenji knocked the bear away and yelled, "Don't touch me!"

"Oh, did I hit a nerve!?"

"That bastard..." Kenji's arms fell to his sides, "Take us to the damn trial room."

The five of us walked away from the scene of the crime, leaving Hanako in such a state. We headed down to the dormitories, and further into the main hallway. The floor below us descended, and the five of us survivors were transferred down to the trial area deep underground.

Two of us were killers this time? Are you seriously kidding me? How was this even fair...?


	32. Ch 3B: Boiling Point, Trial

**Author's Note: This chapter has explicit depictions of violence. Be forewarned. This chapter means the conclusion of the first "stage" of the killing game. Enjoy it. :3**

 **Chapter 3B: Boiling Point**

 **TRIAL**

Quietly, the five of us stood at our own podiums that encircled the center of this room. From Monokuma's chair going clockwise, the stands were designed for Akihiko, Kenji, Hanako's placard, Nico, Kibou's placard, Satoshi, and then myself. I disliked being next to Satoshi but I didn't choose our talents for us.

In between Satoshi and Monokuma, I pondered on which I disliked more at this point.

Kiyo headed down from the stands before us and finally offered an explanation, "Misery insisted I clear some things up for you guys, though I'd rather not. The person who killed Kibou is among you alive, and well... That's what your trial's for."

"What about Hanako's killer!?" Nico demanded to know, "We can't possibly let them get away with this sick crime!"

"Let me finish explaining, you filthy troglodyte!" Kiyo responded with cruel words, "That servant girl was killed on my orders. Thus, the killer is not being implicated for it."

Kenji's eyes opened wide, "The fuck is that!? He gets to just walk!" his attention turned to Satoshi, Akihiko, and Nico, "Which one of you assholes did it, huh!?"

Akihiko tried to calm him down, "Kenji, we have other things to concern ourselves with. Like Kibou's killer!"

"Pretty suspicious," Satoshi remarked, "Trying to refocus his attention on that? Hey, did you kill her, Akihiko?"

"Why would I? Because that bastard asked me to!? Are you crazy!?"

Nico shouted, "Enough! We will find Kibou's killer and solve that mystery. Then we can focus on the real issue here!"

Kiyo chuckled, "Your disorganization is quite amusing to me. Now, if you brats would let me finish... Once you've solved the mystery... If you solve it... Then and only then will I explain what shall be done with Hanako's killer."

Kenji growled, "Fine, fine. I'll solve this right quick. I'll just have to explain whose fault this is, right? Well, it's not mine. I was the one who tried to sabotage the boiler, though."

"What!?" The rest of us exclaimed, but Kenji just nodded.

"When Satoshi's plan went through, I fell into despair. I had to get us out of here alive," Kenji explained, "So I-"

Nico interrupted him, "Satoshi's plan? What is that about?"

When no one offered an explanation, I gave one, "Satoshi, can you explain? Or do I have to hurt you again?"

Satoshi winced, "Yeah, I get it. So... Kibou's movie wasn't actors. It was real people in that film, that she actually killed. Kibou was letting me know she planned to kill someone to get us out of here."

The others seemed shocked by this, "Kibou was the masked attacker, then?" Akihiko asked.

I filled them in, "Satoshi's plan was to get Kenji to take Hanako's handbook. Then he, Kenji, Kibou, and Akihiko would scan the five handbooks and leave Nico and I behind."

"What!? You sons of bitches!" Nico pointed angrily at them, "You dirty traitors!"

Satoshi argued back, "So you'd rather I let us all die!? Of course we tried to betray you!"

Akihiko gathered our attention, "I can confirm. Nico was hiding in his room, not willing to trust us. Granberia was injured, and Hanako was forced to take care of her. No one would have intervened, had I agreed."

Kenji added, "But the bastard refused us out of pride. Threatened to report us if we attempted this again," Akihiko rolled his eyes, "Why was the plan not good enough for you!?"

Akihiko replied bluntly, "Because then you'd be alive."

"So!? What does that matter to you!?"

"I never told you all, but... My brother, he died in the West Amazaki Hospital. What was it... Six years ago?" Akihiko had never mentioned his brother's death to us personally, though Shinji had mentioned it, "He died when the damn place burned down."

I gasped, "You don't mean..."

Akihiko finished the thought for me, "One day, a kid was accepted into the burn ward. Kenji Amagi had just had his first experience with fire. And while he was there, another accident happened. The boy lived, but many others didn't. Including my brother."

Kenji refused to take the blame, "So what!? I didn't choose this talent! I never wanted it! I didn't murder your brother, Akihiko! You know that!"

"Do I?" Akihiko glared at him, "Is it really true they were _all_ accidents? Because from what some witnesses said... You liked setting things on fire, just to see what would burn. A regular pyromaniac in the making, you were."

Sweat dripped off of the side of Kenji's face as he was unable to argue with that point. As he fell into silence, Nico asked, "So what happened after your plan went through?"

Satoshi adjusted his collar again, a nervous habit of his by now, "Well, Kibou said she would murder someone that night. I bitched her out, but... She was intent on killing someone. And her target was... Kenji."

"Say what now?" Kenji perked up at hearing his name being said at such a critical point.

Nico sighed, taking his glasses off, "I'm going to have one aching headache by the end of this. Kenji, what were you doing this morning?"

Kenji sighed, "Well, you see... When I knew we couldn't get out except through murder now, thanks to Boxer boy ruining our plans... I tried to mess with the boiler. Break it. I figured, hey, if I even got executed for it, at least I'd have saved you guys. That's where the heat was coming from."

"Kibou was aware he'd try to do something like this," Satoshi relayed to us his own theory, "At least, I think so. She probably intended to dispose of him in a sneak attack if his idea failed. But before she could... The boiler exploded. And she died because of Kenji's talent!"

Akihiko agreed quite readily, "Makes sense to me. His talent is volatile, isn't it?"

Kenji glared at Akihiko with such hatred we'd never seen from him before, "Did you kill Hanako to get back at me!? Is that what Kiyo meant, huh!?"

"I'd not take an innocent's life to make you suffer," he answered curtly, "I'm better than that."

"Really? A drug abusing fake athlete is better than sinking to low levels, huh!?" Kenji fired back, "You're the Armstrong of the fighting arts, Aki. But you know what? He still has more balls than you."

Aki cracked his knuckles, "Excuse me? I don't need Raxath to end your life in this courtroom."

Nico tried to calm them down, "Would you both just relax!? We need teamwork right now!"

"Hah, teamwork!?" Satoshi laughed, "Are you fucking kidding me? You think we were ever a team, Nico? Kenji, Kibou, and I... We planned to kill you, you know? To leave you rotting for our own sake. What team are you on about?"

"I don't find the humor in that," I dryly countered, "It just means you're trash. Human filth."

Satoshi brushed off my insult, "Yeah, says the thief. Says the murderer," he frowned, "You know, I was reveling in the thought of handing your ring to him. And telling him... with such excitement, what had happened to his precious Granberry. I would have lied, obscured the truth and... He'd never be able to forgive Nico."

Nico's eyes bulged when he heard that, "You were going to paint me as her killer!? When you were the fucker that did it!?"

"Why not? If I told him the truth, who knows what he might have done..." Satoshi laughed to himself, "I mean, it's beautiful. I get my job back, the thief dies, and Shinji gets his own justice for his past crimes, too."

I couldn't even begin to fathom what we were hearing, "What the fuck...? What happened to you, Satoshi!?"

Satoshi just chuckled to himself, "Oh, well... I've been aware of a little truth. What really happened," he smirked, "Kiyo told me some interesting information. And showed me a video. A video of the member of Despair amongst us."

The rest of us shouted out in surprise, horror, confusion, but he just ignored it all, "More importantly, I found... A simple truth. A truth that is so...despicable to me, so sickening, so... Damning."

"Well, what the fuck is it!?" Nico yelled at him, "Just say it already!"

"No can do." A couple of us cursed him out briefly, "Because if I did, well... That would ruin our little game. The game of life and death we've been enjoying so much..."

Nico sighed, "For fuck's sake... Fine. Be mysterious, spew your bullshit. We'll figure it out ourselves. We don't need help from you."

"I'll give you some hints, though, Nico. The member of Despair in our game... They have manipulated the first three killings. Encouraging Kaz to save Hanako... Reminding Mayu of her duty to protect others... Motivating Takumi to repay his best friend... What people fit these requirements, hm?"

Nico listed out the possibilities, "The people who spent the most time with them. Akihiko, Daisuke, Shinji, and Shinju, essentially."

Satoshi nodded, "And if Shinju is the assistant, that makes the list even shorter. Which leads to this next question... Who of the three is it?"

Akihiko glared at Satoshi, "This is just a bunch of bullshit from you, isn't it?"

"Is it really, Akihiko? So your connection to those three were just coincidence? They had no... similarities?" Satoshi argued against him, "And hey, if it was you, maybe you ignited this whole event when you turned us down. That's my theory, anyways."

I interrupted him, "Why not Daisuke? Or... Well, I don't want to accuse him, but Shinji is an option, too."

Satoshi offered, "Yes, it is true it may be one of them. But then how could they have caused this? Truly perplexing..."

A theory formed in the back of my mind; one I didn't want to think about. Instead, I asked, "Nico, Akihiko, Kenji, what do we do? We need to find Kibou's killer before we can focus on what this bastard says."

"Interesting you ask the three suspects," Satoshi enjoyed our suffering, "That being said... Which of you three killed Kibou? Hm? Willing to confess, again?"

Nico caught onto that little tidbit, "What was that?"

Satoshi just smiled and shrugged, as if it hadn't happened. Damn him and his games! Seriously, what did they tell Satoshi that fucked him up this badly!? Or was he always... Just waiting to reveal his true nature!?

The other three didn't say anything. Was it up to me? Really? God, but these guys are useless.

"Nico?" he gave me his full attention when I called out to him, "Do you have the keys on you?"

"You mean the key ring?" Nico reached into his pocket and cursed, "No... I gave it to... Oh... Man. No! Shit!"

Aki grabbed the side of his head, wincing in pain, "My headaches... What now?"

Nico admitted, "Well, Kibou asked me to let her borrow it. Said she left something inside the metalworks. I didn't think of distrusting her... I honestly suspected Satoshi to be the masked killer."

Satoshi sighed, "Not so kind of you, hm, teammate? For you to turn on us so quickly... Are you fit to be our leader?" And again with that shit-eating grin of his.

"I swear I will beat your ass without mercy," Nico threatened him, "Stop fucking talking!"

Kenji just shook his head amongst all of this craziness, "All I want to know is... Who killed Hanako?"

"My hero," Satoshi just ignited all of the rage burning inside Kenji, "You mad?"

Kenji leaped up to assault him, but Aki held him back, "Don't. The rules state that-"

Kenji ripped his arm out of Aki's grip, "Fuck these rules! This bastard...!"

Aki pulled Kenji back more forcefully this time, "Damn it, Kenji. We solve the crime; then we get him. If you can't wait, Monokuma will just execute you and you'll never even get your answers!"

Kenji finally relented, moving back to his podium. Satoshi waved his fingers at him with that same delicate grin, enticing him to attack once more. Kenji resisted his attempts at enraging him this time.

Nico quipped to himself, "This whole thing is a train wreck from start to finish... Look, I don't know if Aki is Despair of if Satoshi is insane or what, but... I have to solve this case. Even if doing so puts me at risk of being murdered."

"What do you mean?" Aki asked, unsure what Nico was intending to do.

"In the explosion, I imagine Kenji was closer to the boiler. So much so that when the blast occurred, _he_ was what landed on Kibou and broke her neck. Kenji managed to survive his wounds and soon realized he had accidentally killed someone."

Kenji argued, "If that was so, what about the blowtorch, hm? If I caused the explosion, I wouldn't need such tools!"

Nico continued, not skipping a beat, "I assume Kiyo came to him and made some deal or threat. Kenji, knowing he was dead if he refused, agreed. He found the keys on Kibou's corpse, stole a blowtorch, and sabotaged the pipe afterwards in a bad attempt at framing someone else."

I added, "So the blood on the handle was left from Kenji's wounds? That makes sense..."

"Then he pretends to have passed out and tried to pass the buck," Nico finished, "Hence why he doesn't want to find Kibou's killer first. Then he can't avenge Hanako himself."

Kenji yelled back at him, "Damn right! Why the fuck should I get punished for an accident caused by my talent!? How is that fair to me!?"

"So you admit it, then. You killed my Kibou," Satoshi deadpanned, his former antagonism lost in the moment, "Then I was right."

"You were...what?"

Satoshi admitted, "Kiyo told me. Said your deal was simple. If you confessed to anyone that you did it, you'd pay for it. And knowing that, you still confessed to Hanako, didn't you? About the accident, right?"

Kenji didn't answer, but his silence all but confirmed Satoshi's assertions.

"Of course... Kiyo forgot to mention one thing about what would happen if you told. He never said... You'd pay for it with _your_ life."

Kenji's eyes widened, his glasses falling off of his face and smashing against the cold, hard floor as what had happened became known to him, "You..."

Satoshi laughed, "Let me tell you a tale, then."

 **-Satoshi's Flashback-**

It was invigorating again, holding the scythe Kibou always had with her. She was dead now, but I'd honor her memory.

Walking into the metalworks, Kiyo had been kind enough to lock the doors behind me. No one would interrupt, and thanks to the design of the room, no one would hear it, either.

I walked towards the center of the room, where a poor, tied up girl was strapped down to a table. Her limbs strung up on the corners of the table, and with her mouth stuffed with a ball gag to ensure she couldn't speak without permission. How kind of Kiyo to hand deliver this specimen to me.

Seriously, I can't believe how easily that dumb thief bitch bought my story. Didn't know about Kibou's hobby? Hah. Who do you think filmed it?

I removed the ball gag from her mouth, to which Hanako began begging for my help, "Satoshi, please! Kiyo tied me up and-"

When she saw what I held in my hands, she stopped talking. I motioned for her to be silent before telling her, "Kenji wasn't supposed to tell you, ya know? That he killed Kibou."

"But he told me! He said I deserved to know the truth!" Hanako still had faith in her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend. Cute.

"You know, it's hard for me. To tell you this but... You are missing your handbook, right?" she nodded, "Kenji stole it, and planned to work with me. To force you out with Kibou, Akihiko, and I. And you know what?" I slammed the scythe in the table, "Despite admitting his own murder to you, he couldn't bear to tell you how he intended to betray you."

Hanako started tearing up, "No... Kenji would never betray me like that!"

I rolled my eyes, "What a troublesome bitch. You know, love makes you blind. Dulls you... Kibou always loved me... Heh. What a joke. I was always aware of her feelings for me, you see," I tossed the scythe from one hand to another just to give me something to focus on "But that made her more useful. She'd do anything, everything for me to notice her. What a good way to get things done. Play the pitiable boy with no friends for the poor girl with a horrible home life, how easy was it? Love convinced her to kill for me. Love convinced her that I would never use her."

"You used her to murder other people!? To use her like a tool!?"

"No, I'm not some psycho..." I said to my first victim. Hmm... Ehh, hindsight. "I just wanted her to stop them from bullying me. But she told me to film, and boom, a hit," I laughed, thinking back on it, "I was scared at first, of course. That she was a killer. But man, did I luck out. This girl would go even that far for me... Then Hope's Peak came knocking, and we got stuck in this game. I felt safe, though. I always had Kibou; a get out of dying free once card. Even when she's the victim, she proved quite useful."

Hanako struggled against the ropes that bound her limbs down, "What is wrong with you!? You're sick!"

I aimed the scythe at her, "I wouldn't say that. You know, since I control your fate. But more to the point... I know the secret of this game now. And if you knew... Oh, you'd be begging for me to just... Kill you anyways."

"I'd never give up!" Hanako disagreed with me, though, "My friends taught me to believe in hope! Even Kibou... She was my friend! And to think I cared for her more than-"

I grabbed something off of the table, a rusty saw blade. Not too blunt, no, but just enough to make the pain last, "No one cared for her more than her master!" I walked to the right side of the table and placed the saw against her arm, right at the shoulder, "I even intend to... remake her!"

The sounds of screaming was like a wave of calm over my body. My nerves relaxed, my anger faded. Nothing had made me feel more serene, more carefree than ever before. The symphony of desperate screams from the soon to be former Ultimate Maid didn't make me hesitate a single bit.

Cutting through the fat and the skin was easy, but now I had to drag it back across her bones, the damned things being so resilient to cutting. Only when I was halfway through did I wonder two things; Should I have given her morphine to numb the pain? And is that what bone marrow looks like?

Oh, well. I began humming along as I continued my work. These arms would do nicely, if I was able to freeze them quickly enough. With a final, tranquil sound of flesh tearing away, the first arm fell to the ground after a heavy workout on my part. Now for the other one...

Soon I found myself with two beautiful, long arms, slender and exquisite. Placing them into a bucket on the ground, I smirked to myself. Only fifteen minutes before the trial, hm? Fine...

I walked over to see Hanako's face. Oh, she was still breathing? "You are a fighter, huh? Don't worry. Kibou will appreciate these new arms, okay? You won't die for nothing..."

Hanako replied to me one last time, "Burn in hell..." There was that fighting spirit I was so delighted to see.

Piercing the back of her head with the scythe, I giggled to myself, "Oh? But Kenji will burn long before I do. Teehee!"

 **-Granberia's POV-**

I covered my mouth and took several steps back from the podium, trying my best not to retch, to puke so violently that I'd never eat again. What the fuck did he just confess to? He severed her arms while she was alive!?

Satoshi added one last note, "Kiyo was kind enough to clean the room's floor and fold the table up for me. We couldn't clean her uniform, but Kaz isn't around for laundry, is he? Hahahahahaha!"

"How did this fucking psycho go undetected this long!?" Akihiko was legitimately fearful in his presence, "Jesus H, but he's a fucking nightmare!"

Nico supplied the answer, "Typically, serial killers and sociopaths of this caliber are usually renowned among their community for being upstanding, law-abiding individuals. Children of some have said their father was everything he should have been at home; responsible, caring, sympathetic, attentive. But then he'd go out and kill people in his free time."

I had heard of similar stories, "Basically, they blend in real well. Unlike people who commit mass killings, who are recognized as threats earlier on due to their unstable home life or bullied background."

Satoshi disregarded the three of us and smiled at Kenji, "Kenji, do you want me to die? But you know better than that, right? I'm not dying next. You are."

Kenji didn't attack him or jump up or make a scene. Lifting his head up high, tears flowing from his eyes, he made one last prayer. Silent to himself, that none of us would know. His one request was that he'd be able to see Hanako one last time, even if Heaven wasn't right for him. Just so he could apologize for letting this happen how it had...

Monokuma glanced at Kiyo, "You know... We've heard about torture in this series before, but what you let Satoshi do was really fucked up, you know?"

Kiyo sighed, "Yeah, well, Kenji fucking screwed me over in this trial. I had a right to punish him how I saw fit."

There was really nothing left for us to say, and the vote came in. The slot machine spun around and around before landing on Kenji's face, lighting up and spewing coins all over the floor.

Monokuma announced, "Well, you guys did it again! The Blackened and accidental killer this time was Kenji Amagi! A painfully obvious trial, if I do say so myself. Couldn't you have tried harder?"

Kenji glared back at him, "I sold myself out for the right reasons. I had betrayed them once before; never again! I want you to remember that, bear. Unlike the others, I died for being loyal!"

"Whatever helps you come to terms with dying, I guess," Monokuma shrugged, "Is there anything you want to say or should I move this along?"

Kenji faced the rest of us, "Guys... Look. I fucked up... I know it." he took off his scarf and tossed it to me, "Give it to Shinji. I died for our sins over here. And you..." he pointed to Satoshi, "I want you to know... That I wouldn't have found any comfort in your death. Not even if I lived to see it, because... I know I'm going to be with Hanako. And that means so much more to me."

"Awe, that's sweet," Nico said. When I glanced at him with a quizzical expression, he defended himself, "I'm a sucker for goodbyes like this, damnit!"

I walked over and clasped Kenji's hand in mine, "I'll never forget you, Kenji. We'll do our best."

"You better," Kenji couldn't stop the tears streaming down his face anymore, "The Illuminati won't give in easily. So don't you ever lose to th... To them."

Satoshi gave his own goodbye, "Bye, Kenji. I understand, though. You didn't want to set the world on fire. You just lit a flame in that girl's heart."

Kenji snarkily answered, "Get nuked, dickweed."

Aki finally addressed Kenji, "You know... I blamed you. For so long... But when I met you, even when I thirsted for vengeance... I never could bring myself to do it. And now I know why... Goodbye, Kenji. You were... A better friend than I deserved."

Kenji nodded, "You all better prepare yourselves! I'm off to see Hanako and my best friend once more... Hope he's in a better mood."

Monokuma smirked, "Alright, then! It's Punishment Time!" He slammed that gavel down on the red button and the animation for executions played. Unlike the others who were dragged away, Kenji marched forward, not running or cowering. No, he faced his death like he faced life; without too much thought and good intentions.

The Ultimate Firestarter's Ultimate Hell flashed on a flashy and dimming sign raised up above what looked like some kind of strange circus. Inside of a see-through room Kenji had his four limbs cuffed onto a table. The room had only one other item inside of it. An oxygen tank.

Kenji accepted his fate with a smile, knowing the trick that was involved here. A Monokuma ran up to save him, dressed in a firefighter costume. He banged on the walls to no avail, and when that failed, grabbed the door and slid it open.

The camera feed cut out as the explosion from the spark hit the purely oxygenated room and obliterated the entire structure. Pieces of broken Monokuma fell across the sky as nothing was left inside but the charred remains of Kenji Amagi. A friend, a comrade, and a man who just wanted to do the right thing.

The four of us were silent as Monokuma directed us to the elevator, which lifted us back to the middle of the hallways.

We proceeded towards the now opened hallway at the end of the hall, but Kiyo interrupted us, "Hey, hey. We're not done yet. You still have to decide my fate."

Nico shook his head, "Granberia, you take it. I don't want to deal with him right now."

I nodded and walked to Kiyo, "What you did was so grody, man. You're just as sick as Satoshi."

Kiyo didn't bother arguing, "Think what you will; my intentions are pure. Now, should I make myself home in one of the cottages or-"

"That won't be necessary," I smiled at him, my eyes closed.

Then I jumped towards him and slit his throat with my knife, bashing him into the wall. I stabbed him once, twice, three times for insurance before grabbing the ring off of his finger and kicking his body into the lounge, "Let's go."

The four of us silently trudged along, leaving Kiyo's body behind. No, there wasn't another option there. Kiyo was disposed of, and only Kenta was left.

As the door before us opened up, someone greeted us, "How are you guys...Oh, god." Daisuke stepped away from us, "You're all that's left!?"

Satoshi shrugged, "Blame Kenji for that. Three people dead because of him and his talent," I glared at him, "I'm not lying. Now, if you would, I have body parts to collect."

Satoshi walked back down the hallway and entered his room with his handbook, flashing us an eerie smile before he slipped inside.

"Was he being serious?" Daisuke asked, terror in his voice.

"Yes," Aki answered him, "We'll explain to you all together before that fucker comes back."

While Daisuke caught up with Akihiko, I ran ahead. Shinji, please...

I rounded a corner and found Shinji, Nari, Shinju, and Koneko seated together. My heart fluttered briefly, before that feeling of despair came again. Shizue had been... Killed? And Takumi was gone, too? But I liked bullying him...

Nari smiled the second she saw me and quickly glomped me, "Oh, Granberry! You're alive!"

I slowly pushed her off of me, "Calm down, udders. I ensured I'd live through it, didn't I?"

Shinji laughed at that one, "No need to act like that. We've all missed you, you know?"

I nodded, slowly, "Oh, right," I pulled out Kenji's scarf and handed it to Shinji, "He said he wanted you to have it... Oh, and take this, too." I also gave him Kiyo's ring, soaked in blood.

"I'm guessing you killed him yourself?" Shinji was surprisingly perceptive about that. I nodded, "Yes, well... I think this ring might one day serve a different purpose."

"What are you on about?" Nari joked with him, "There's no girls left for you to prey on now."

Shinji frowned at her, "Not what I meant, but please, accuse me of more things I wouldn't do."

Nico called us out, "Hey, guys? Come on, we need an emergency group meeting. Shouldn't Fuuko be with you?"

"Here," Fuuko called out, with Hajime next to her and Panterbell cuddling up to her chest in her arms, "Shinji asked me to find these two."

Without hesitation, I had already snatched Panterbell from her, and was petting the adorable, love-deprived kitten in my own arms, nuzzling his nose with my own. Who's a good kitten, who's a good kitten? Is it you, Panterbell?

I stopped once I remembered where I was and gradually lowered him out of my face, my cheeks turning a deep red, "You saw nothing."

Koneko snickered at me, "No one can resist a good pussy!"

Shinji face palmed, "Not even gonna correct that one. Nico, we're ready."

He nodded, and ran off. He came back with Daisuke and Akihiko and began to explain, "Well... Long story short? Kenji's power went off by accident. Killed Kibou in a boiler explosion. Got pressured into a deal to not out himself by Kiyo. Told Hanako anyways. Kiyo had Satoshi butcher Hanako to pay Kenji back for breaking his promise, and then Kenji was killed. Executed."

"Butcher?" Fuuko asked, "What did Kiyo order him to do, exactly?"

"To kill Hanako. But instead of simply doing that, he severed her arms first," I expected the horrified reactions on each of our classmate's faces, "Only killed her after. Keeping the body parts, too. Said something about remaking Kibou. Generally some fuck shit."

Shinji could barely process what he just had listened to, "Are you for real...? I know Satoshi's sometimes been... unstable, you could say, but..."

Daisuke's hands were already balled into fists, "I'm going to fuckin' kill him!"

"And get executed!?" Nico grabbed his shoulder, "Like that's not what he wants!"

Aki concurred, "Killing him would just make another trial. We'd be playing into his little game again..."

"How about we just leave him behind, then?" Nari suggested, "Go to the new area ourselves and try to find a way out of here already."

I nodded, "Agreed. Getting away from him is the only reasonable option. Distance is key."

The rest of us nodded, but before we could move, the room suddenly filled with smoke. None of us knew how to react, and before we could do anything... It was too late.

Every one of us passed out to the floor, unable to escape the sleeping gas in time. Little did we know we were being taken to a new area, where a new part of this game would happen. A game more diabolical than what we had already been forced to undergo.

Only now would I think back on this as the beginning of the Endgame. Five Despair Fragments had been gathered and collected, and on the precipice of reviving Ultimate Despair, we were thrust into one last tribulation; a final battle to overcome.


	33. Chapter 4: Despair's Thirteen 1

**Chapter Four-Despair's Thirteen**

 **Survival Life**

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Sleep paralysis is a terrifying feeling, you know? That feeling of not being able to move your body even though your mind has awakened but the body lags behind. A feeling that can grip the heart and sear fear into your still tired mind.

Luckily, it's not eternal. The feeling of elation overcame me when my body finally stirred, when the gears inside my fleshy prison began to work again, and I could finally open my eyes to see the dim light in the poorly lit room we had been transported to. I sighed in momentary relief.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting in the room. I was always surprised that the red tint remained in my right eye, as if Monokuma's lightning insignia had never left my face. I looked around the room, only to be greeted by something unsightly.

Kenta was in the room in his lab coat, bandaged up where he had been wounded. He banged on the doors, demanding, "Let me out, you damned animatronic! You were not designed to betray your master!"

Monokuma appeared on the monitor giddily laughing at his former 'master', "Master? That's funny. My only masters are members of Despair, Kenta. Like Izuru was. When you turned him back to that loser Hajime, well... You have no authority left!"

"Damn bear... Never should have created your bitch of a creator! Junko was a mistake! I should have just taken the world for myself... Not relied on some fetishistic psychopath," Kenta cursed under his breath.

The rest of us were awakening. The nine of us remaining classmates were now paired with a frightened Panterbell, an angry Hajime, a scared Fuuko, a taciturn Misery, and a belligerent Kenta.

Granberia observed her wrist, "Monokuma, what's with the wrist bracelets?"

True to her word, each of us had a black and white bracelet on our left wrists. I checked mine, and surely enough, it was there.

Nico protested our new circumstances, "I'd rather die than play another game of yours!"

"Calm down, everyone. First, let me explain," Monokuma laughed again, mocking us in our inability to resist his new sick game, "As you all may recall, Future Foundation came here to eliminate the last member of Despair under the orders of Second Branch Director Kyosuke Munakata. But I, a bear and loyal disciple of Despair, didn't care about killing them. I only worked with your captors because our goals coincided; reviving the memories of the last bastion of Ultimate Despair!"

Hajime walked towards him, asking, "Let me guess; you want to save them and rebuild the group, don't you?"

Monokuma winked, "Nice work, Hajime. Maybe not all of your worth was stripped from you before, puhuhu!"

"So then what is this?" Kenta pointed to his bracelet, "Can't you just explain already!?"

"Fine, fine. You are playing a new game. This game will be known as Find the Traitor! One amongst you has been commissioned by me to kill the rest of you! Your mission, or objective, is to survive, to find the killer, and to execute them yourself!"

As he continued his explanation, the monitor showed us pixel art footage of us to provide a visual aid.

"To simplify it, every two hours you will all be drugged by your bracelet. While you are asleep, the killer will be awakened and allowed to kill any one of you, except the member of Despair."

Nico adjusted his glasses on his face, "You figured out who it is then, hm?"

Monokuma chuckled, "The answer was obvious if you think about it! But then again, you all don't think."

Daisuke growled, "Fuck off, teddy! Just get to the point!"

"Fine. The wristbands have two other functions. Try to break them off, it'll inject poison into you guys. Incurable, of course. Finally, each wristband should have a forbidden action on it if you click it. If you perform that action at any time during the game, you will be poisoned immediately," Monokuma grinned devilishly at all of us, "Now, the fun part. The exception to this rule is the member of Despair. Theirs, if pressed, will not have one."

Kenta rolled his eyes, "Then by deductive reasoning, we just check everyone's wristbands. Whomever doesn't have a forbidden action-"

Monokuma cut him off, "Is not allowed to be harmed until the traitor amongst you is rooted out," he added, "Now, this game has other interesting things to it. Around this complex in the 4th area, I have prepared documents that can be found at any time. These could contain classified information that might lead you to the identity of Ultimate Despair! Or even the traitor! So, good luck!"

"Is that all?" Akihiko asked, finally joining in our discussion.

Monokuma nodded, "Yep. Get clues, avoid your forbidden action, don't get killed, and find the traitor! Once you guys do so, the game will be complete and the member of Ultimate Despair can begin their final battle with you guys! As of now, the introduction to the game is now complete!"

The monitor blinked off, and the rest of us looked at each other. Daisuke spoke first, "What a bunch of bullshit! Someone get me a hammer! I'll get this damn thing off!"

Nari yelled at him, "Didn't you listen to the announcement at all!? Don't just kill yourself!" She grabbed his arm, pulling it off of his wrist, "I don't want more of us to die!"

Daisuke gazed into her eyes, his expression one of surprise before giving way to acceptance, "Fine. I'll restrain myself, for now."

That was when shit hit the fan. Nico clutched his throat and fell forward into the table. Half of his face was purple now, and blood began leaking from his open mouth. Before any of us could even act to try and help him, he stopped shuddering, his eyes pained and glossed over.

Wondering what the hell had just happened, I ran up and checked his wristband, "Forbidden Action: Check your own forbidden action."

"What!?" Daisuke screamed, pounding the table with his fist, "How the fuck is that even remotely fair!?"

Kenta offered his opinion, "Nico is arguably the best logician in your group. Killing him first was to hamper your problem-solving skills and to instill despair. A wise move, though I am more a threat than that brat could have been."

I closed Nico's eyes for him and picked him up before laying him on the side of the floor. Daisuke handed me his zippered sweater and I covered Nico's body with it, "Goodnight, sweet prince..."

Kenta opened his mouth again, "Alright, kiddos. Check your forbidden actions. Then, don't trust anyone. I'll be leaving now."

Hajime grabbed his arm, "Like hell you will. We need to stay together and solve this before it gets totally out of hand!"

Kenta shook Hajime's hand off of him, "Nonsense. I'll survive on my own. I won't be held down to you all. I'm of a higher caliber than you all could ever hope to attain."

Granberia reprimanded him, "Wow, and I thought Byakuya was an insufferable prick."

"Call me what you will, children," Kenta smirked, "I intend on outliving that bucket of bolts. Have fun killing each other."

And just like that, he left us. But he wasn't the only one.

Satoshi headed for the door, "He's got the right idea. I know how much the traitor'll want me dead. Ahahaha! No worries, guys! I'll never forget the times we had together."

What a bastard... I thought to myself, before addressing the others, "So, what? Should we just admit our forbidden actions to each other now as a sign of faith?"

Akihiko quickly rebuked me, "Planning something?" He walked to the door, "According to Satoshi, the member of Despair is either Daisuke, Shinji, or I. I don't feel like sticking around when one of you finally reveals their hand."

"Akihiko, you're just going to abandon us!?" Granberia grabbed his hand, "After all we've been through!?"

"I..." he yanked his arm out from Granberia's grasp, "I just need some time to think, okay?"

"Then take this," Granberia handed him a note. He looked at her in confusion, but she nodded, "All of it. Then you'll understand..." He reluctantly picked it out of her hands walked off, holding it under his right arm. Thus he left us, shoulders slumped and looking down at the floor the whole time, as if ashamed of his own cowardice.

Fuuko, meanwhile, grabbed my hand, "Shinji... We can escape, right?"

I didn't know what to say, so I just tried to comfort her, "Damn right we will. We need to work together."

Hajime and Misery both headed to the door, "I think I'll keep a watchful eye on Kenta. You know... He can't be trusted." Hajime gave us his own reasons.

As Hajime stepped out, Misery asked, "Are any of you ready for what horrors await us? If any are wanting to back out now... Your forbidden action is the fastest way to remove yourself from this game."

Nari ignored her, "Shinji, what should we do? Stay as a group? That might make us more easy to find, though..."

Daisuke held his arms behind his head, "Then I'll stay here. This will be home base. Every time we find something useful, bring it back here. We can stockpile knowledge that way."

Misery questioned him, "And if you are the member of Despair, that would make it quite simple for you to dispose of that information, wouldn't it?" Daisuke couldn't offer anything useful to counter her sound argument, "I will remain behind as well. That way, if Daisuke is the traitor, his hands will be tied."

"And what if it's you?" Daisuke argued, "You could be the traitor, too!"

"Impossible," Misery walked up to Daisuke and flashed her wrist. He clicked it, and nothing came up, "See? I can't be the traitor, because I'm..."

Daisuke stumbled back, "A member of Despair...!?"

Misery walked back to the opposite wall and leaned against it, "Hence why I was spared when every other person in this resort was culled by the members of Despair. Specifically, Shinju did it."

Shinju's eyes widened, looking down at her own hands, "You're saying... I killed them? I killed the people who worked here!?"

"Every last one," Misery replied coldly, "Just like your own parents and without regrets. I was there for it all," she sighed, her one orange eye gazing at the floor. I never understood why she had bandaged most of her face, though. Had she been scarred somehow? Or was it something else entirely?

Shinju couldn't find it in herself to argue with her, "Well... Regardless of what I might have done, what matters to me now is getting everyone out of here safely!"

Misery chuckled, "Even if your being here is a threat? What if when Despair gets reawakened, they'll try to use you again, eh?"

"I wouldn't-"

"Save it," she cut her off post haste, "Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. _Would_ we?" Shinju looked away, ashamed, "Any clues you go out there and find would be quite useful. Dawdling would be a poor choice, considering our lives are on a time limit," she pointed to the timer on our bracelet that was counting down to our first sleep session.

I decided to ask, "What should we even look for? What kind of clues?"

Daisuke offered, "School records, documents that look important. Just go scrounging, basically."

"If you think that's best," I admitted, though I figured we didn't really have a choice not to, "How do we divide into teams, then?"

Shinju suggested, "How about groups of three, then? Granberia, Fuuko, and I will be group A, and then Nari, Koneko, and Shinji will be group B."

"Works for me," Koneko answered.

Misery walked to the table and picked Panterbell off of it, who immediately began purring and cuddling up to her, "I will watch the kitten, then. You can find me here. Nico... He needs company."

That was the first moment I felt something...wrong. Panterbell was only kind to people he knew; not strangers. So why was Misery so damn familiar to him...? Did she raise him before we came here?

I agreed, "Alright, that's our plan, then. We'll split up and each take a direction. We'll take west, Shinju, you take east. We'll scour the area for clues, anything that might help us get the hell out of here."

With that, we split up and waved to each other as we took our separate ways down the darkened hallways of the building, built like a school or an office. The first few rooms we checked were empty, and after walking for about half an hour without finding anything, we took a break in a smaller room.

We gathered tables and desks and propped them against the door. Even if it only served as a placebo, it made us feel safer. Our wristbands showed us the time remaining to the first kill; about an hour.

"I wonder if there actually are any clues in this fucking place," Nari complained, "I mean, what if Monokuma was just lying to us!?"

Koneko cuddled up to Nari, patting her head, "No way, Nari. He has to give us a chance to win. That's what makes the despair of losing feel the worst, you know?"

"And as long as that chance exists, we can't just lie down and die!" I cracked my knuckles, "Not until our last breaths. Everyone we've lost would never forgive us if we gave in now!"

Nari shook her head after a moment of hesitance, "Yeah, you're right. I wish I was more level-headed, like Granberia. Or upbeat like you, Koneko. Even Shinju's got more restraint than I do," she sniffled a bit, "Do I ever learn?"

Koneko patted Nari on the head to quell her worries, "It's okay, Nari. We'll support you, even if you're dumb as bricks." Koneko smiled at Nari, who gave her a confused glare.

"Hey, I'm stubborn, not dumb," Nari pouted, "You don't have to be so mean..."

I laughed at her cute reaction, "Yeah, we know."

Nari glared up at me, "Hey, I'm at least trying to change, okay? Can't say the same for you two."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snarkily replied.

"Koneko here still can't stop digging into anything that piques her curiosity," Koneko's ears fluttered as she stared at Nari's bangs before trying to paw at one of them, "Or hitting moving objects."

Koneko's ears folded down, "I'm sorry, Nari..."

Nari ruffled up her hair and smiled up at me, "And as for you... Well, no. I think you have changed. You actually seem cool, now."

"Oh, well that's what I've always wanted to hear." Rolling my eyes, I walked to the other door in the corner of the room, "Wish me luck..." I opened the sliding door and stepped inside the backroom, where upon the row of desks and chairs, my attention was focused on the teacher's desk. On top of it was a white folder. Hm...

 **Meanwhile...**

Kenta walked into an abandoned room. There was an old film projector and a screen set up, with some chairs knocked over or stacked in the corners, "Musty, unused for a year, at least. A perfect place for me to hide out, if necessary."

"Talking to yourself, huh?" Kenta flipped around to find Satoshi at the doorway, "What? Did I scare you?"

Kenta adjusted his glasses before pointing to the doorway, "Out, louse. I want nothing to do with you."

Satoshi frowned, "Come on, man. I know you're the traitor. And I need to have you promise me I won't die first."

"And why would it matter to you if I was the traitor?" Kenta was trying to feel out this kid's motive.

"Well, I can't die first. Kibou demands that I remake her... Her head and new arms are in the freezer located somewhere in this damn hell zone!" Satoshi's eyes were wild, insane-looking, "So promise me... Don't kill me!"

 _He's clearly mentally unstable. It would be in my best interest to play along_ , "Certainly, young man. For now, you may roam free."

Satoshi grinned quite creepily at Kenta, "Thanks, boss. Great acting so far. We both know you and 'Kuma are best friends."

Satoshi turned and walked off, headed south towards the alleged freezer area. Kenta breathed out in relief as he watched him leave his sight. Just as he was about to begin barricading himself inside, an announcement rang out from a certain traitorous bear.

"Ah, forgot to mention... I know that all of you care so much for the wellbeing of your fellow players. So that room you started in will have a display on it. Wonder who died during your nap time? Go there and check it out. Use it to deduce the identity of the traitor if you can!" Monokuma grinned one last time before the monitor he appeared on in this room blinked off, leaving everyone in darkness and silence.

 _Finally, peace and solitude._ "Hey!" _Oh, god dammit..._

Standing in the doorway was another nuisance known to Kenta, the boy, "Ah, if it isn't the normal reject. Hajime Hinata..." he continued glaring fiercely at his former associate, "The Boy who cried for talent."

Hajime stepped into the room, "Kenta Sakai, the Ultimate DNA Manipulator. Also the 13th Branch Director of Future Foundation, a founding member who suggested Kazuo Tengan build it in the first place. Formerly second-in-command, until Kyosuke outmaneuvered you."

"Hajime, I have no time for your theories. Do you have anything important to discuss with me?" Kenta was irritated at him already, "I have things to do."

"I know what you want," Hajime answered, "You want to reach the sixth area. The time machine."

Kenta shook his head, "Pitiful accusations, my boy. What would I, the world's greatest scientist, want with that garbage!?"

Hajime didn't relent his glare, "I came for answers, Kenta! Why!? Why did you create the Sakai Project!? Trying to create hope by experimenting with the DNA of influential families!? What for!?"

"Ah, you know that much, then? I suppose it would be pertinent to ensure that information dies with you," Kenta slipped a magnum revolver out of his lab coat and opened it, inspecting the six rounds inside. Confident that it was fully loaded, he put the chamber back in place and spun it, "Any last requests?"

"Everything that's happened. The deaths of billions, the collapse of civilization as we know it... You were the root cause of it all!" Hajime was angry; he was angry for the many victims. He was angry for the survivors who had to try and piece the world back together. He was angry that as he stood here, trying to survive another game of Despair, his friends might be waking up back on Jabberwock...

Kenta chuckled, "What? Am I the final boss of your annoying little narrative then, boy?"

Hajime pointed an accusatory finger at him, "Of course! You're the real reason this happened!"

"Hmph. That's not fair to me, boy, but if I am the villain you say I am, I'll live up to that stereotype in full," He lowered his gun to his side, "It is true, the Sakai Project was my idea. And it is true, I made Junko how she was on purpose. I never expected things to go this far, though."

"Then why has it, old man!?"

Kenta didn't answer at first, but he finally explained his actions, "I was a young genius. Had abilities that dwarfed the puny minds of others. I was able to find ways to prevent genetic disorders. Parkinson's, Huntington's. I could even make people cancer resistant if I was allowed to affect their genes before the first trimester ended.

But the pharmaceutical companies refused my help; even threatened to have me killed and my research disposed of if I didn't let it go. They were too busy looking out for their bottom line. Thought I'd destabilize the entire health industry and lead to economic collapses the likes of the Great Depression."

Hajime just listened, not yet offering a judgment on this man's story.

"So instead, I attended Hope's Peak, hoping I'd be offered a way to use my work through that route. Instead, they demanded I work on bio weapons. Super soldiers. More ways to hurt others, to kill others. That's all those pea brained bastards ever wanted! So that was when I proposed my project. I'd create a new generation of Ultimates and prove my worth. The Chairman of the Board of Directors agreed quite readily, hoping to bring his family back into power in Japan's political systems."

Hajime's eyes opened wide, "And that director was-"

"Yuki Kizami... My grandfather?" I asked, confused as I blew away the dust on the nameplate abandoned on the desk.

Sure enough, that's what it read. I grabbed the folder on the table and opened it up. History of the Kizami branch of... What!? According to this, my family is descended from the same family the Emperor of Japan is! What the hell...?

Kenta nodded to Hajime's guess, "Yes. Director Kizami himself. Always hoping to restore his family to its rightful place, of course. My test run with Nagito was to try and artificially construct luck in someone. Next was Junko, who I secretly manipulated to my own means. I always intended for her to rise to power and destabilize the world."

"Oh, now I get it," Hajime nodded, "You set her up as the final boss. Then you and your Foundation would take her down and you'd rule the world as its savior!"

"I had already learned by that young age the truth of this world," Kenta sadly stared back at the projector, "Money and selfishness won the day. Altruism was foolish of me. Not unless I could force my ways on them. I'd kill however many of those stupid bastards as it took to drag us into the Golden Age of Humanity!"

Hajime disagreed with him, "Are you kidding me? Do you know how many monsters claimed the same!? Stalin, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar. Just a bunch of mass murderers with no regard for human life!"

Kenta just smiled, "I'd be the last. When Mukuro was born by accident, they asked if I could try my manipulation on normal people. Naegi's parents were chosen. Though my work was just as effective on him, I needed powerful children. So I made his powers more latent. He'd be puny, average, a doormat for others to walk all over. But one day, he'd overthrow Junko in my name!"

"And that's when they let you do the project? Using eighteen influential families in Japan for your own goals!?"

"Each of these families would be overthrown by my prodigies, the beginning of a new race of humans. Ascended Humans, you could call them. They would be my generals when I seized the world! Or so I had hoped... Then that bitch outsmarted me."

Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista, the Ultimate Analyst, the Ultimate Despair. Hajime knew her more than he'd ever care to admit to, "That's right. She warped and corrupted two of them and captured the rest. Brought them here and made their powers unavailable to you. Without them, you had to depend on Makoto to finish Junko off himself."

Kenta growled in anger, "But that bitch...! She even knew how that would end... Executing herself like that. My plan had been compromised, but I remained hopeful. That is, until Towa City fell. Until the Warriors of Hope and Monaca Towa, my back up villain, were dethroned. Until the heart-throbbing school trip that you, Izuru, set up to force Makoto into another game... All for what? To save your friends from despair?"

"I wanted to free us from Junko's grasp. None of them... None of them deserved to die!" Hajime screamed at Kenta, "We were used! Abused! Manipulated! By you, by her, and by Hope's Peak itself!"

"How tragic for you. Mass murderers deserve to live now? Then why are you here? After me?" Hajime didn't answer him, so he assumed he had won the argument, "Exactly. I'm as innocent as-"

Hajime stepped forward, his fists clenched so hard that he felt he'd bleed if he put any more pressure into it, "You did this long before Despair spread like wildfire! And you have to atone!"

Kenta held up his magnum revolver, "Or what, kid? I'm armed. And I won't hesitate to put you down."

"Do you think I care!? I have to stop you from using that time machine! You're just going to try and make yourself a God again!"

"Wrong," Kenta fired, the bullet ripping through Hajime's left shoulder, knocking him off of his feet, "I am righting the timeline!"

Hajime rose to his feet as quickly as he could manage, "You haven't learned anything, have you!? The world isn't perfect! I know that! Tragedies occur daily while others worry about a movie remake! Governments fall into corruption and sell out their own constituents to the highest bidder. And if the environment isn't protected, all of Earth will be destroyed!"

Kenta shouted, "Then why protect it!?" He fired once, twice. One of the bullets flew past Hajime's face, cutting his cheek ever so slightly. The other lodged in his right thigh, causing him to drop to his knees, "Why defend a world so cold!?"

"Because... Every one I care about... Every thing I've enjoyed is a product... of that same world," Hajime rose to his feet, a confident grin on his face, "That's why I'll protect it! Especially... from the likes of you!"

Hajime charged forward, slamming into Kenta before he could fire again. The gun slipped out of his hands and bounced across the carpeted floor as Kenta was slammed into the whiteboard and crashed into the floor. He reached for his weapon, but Hajime snatched it before he could and aimed it at the madman, "...Kill me then. What are you waiting for?"

Hajime just shook his head and walked out towards the doorway, "No. I'm not letting you get off that easily. I want you to think on what you've done. Was it all worth it, Kenta? To save the world, you went and destroyed it!? Until you realize the weight of your crimes... You must live." Hajime headed down the hallway with that last line, following a sign that directed him to the nurse's office.

Kenta just punched the ground in anger, "Cocky brat... I'll get that damned machine and rewrite this world's ending! I will have my dream yet!" He reached into his shirt and pulled out a golden locket, opening it up and smiling as nostalgic feelings welled up inside of him, "For you, Mother..."

The document in my hand had data on my family's history. More importantly, the history of a member of the royal family to start it off with.

The first member of my family's lineage was a member of the royal family, a boy named Hideyoshi. He was characterized as being overly feminine to such a degree that he was raised as a girl by his family. Born in 1884, some suspect he was an illegitimate child fathered by Emperor Meiji himself, while others propose he was a nephew of the emperor instead.

Regardless of his origins, in 1901, a royal adviser found reason to sully the name of Keiichiro Kizami, a descendant of a family that supported the Tokugawa Shogunate and that regularly made waves trying to reestablish itself as an important family. In order to dishonor Keiichiro, his marriage to Hideyoshi was arranged.

On the wedding night, upon realizing the trickery done unto him, he assaulted Hideyoshi and beat him to within an inch of his life. Leaving him for dead, Keiichiro would later take his own life for allowing such dishonor to occur to himself.

Kotoko Kizami, the only remaining child of Keiichiro's father, found the wounded Hideyoshi and nursed him back to health. She later married him herself, having fallen in love with the boy she saved. The two were kept secret from the public, as they were technically both royals. Only after he died did Keiichiro's dream come true.

This didn't last. Hideyoshi and Kotoko were both firmly opposed to Japan's increasing militarization, and pleaded with Emperor Taisho to relent on his expansionist policies. Though he pretended to take their pleas into account, Japan's course didn't seem to be changing. Yuki Kizami was born in 1925, just before the man who would become known as Emperor Showa rose to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Showa was much more action-oriented, and sent Hideyoshi and his family off to a small island for the duration of the war. While he committed atrocities the likes of which most Japanese today wouldn't believe, Hideyoshi and his family were seen as traitors to the Empire, and thus were treated as subhuman.

Yuki Kizami grew up with a desire in his heart; a desire for revenge. He invested in several companies, like Nantendo and Koga Industries, and with the revenue bought shares of Hope's Peak.

This was where he would later contract Kenta to perform the Sakai Project; where he would have eighteen children of various influential families made Ultimate by the DNA Manipulator, Kenta. These kids would rise to rule Japan, where Yuki would reveal himself as their benefactor. Thus, he could finally avenge his family's honor, tarnished time and again by the damned royals.

My father, Tohru Kizami, was born after a difficult birth by my grandmother, Hatsune. She died in his childhood, and when he grew up, he married his childhood friend, my mother, Seri. Yuki rarely visited me, but when he did, he'd always expect me to tell him of my accomplishments since last we'd met. It was anxiety-inducing every single time.

That all being said... What does this matter?

The sound of several gunshots rang out, dragging me out of my stupor. Running into the other room, Koneko and Nari were already on their feet, "I found something, but let's hurry!" The three of us nodded in unison and headed out of the room. We sprinted down the hallway and passed someone by that I'd rather not have run into.

Satoshi waved as we ran by, "Hey, guys... Looking for Kenta? He's down that hallway... Saw Hajime not too long after. Maybe he got shot."

"How can you be so damn casual about that!?" I demanded, "Seriously?"

"I assumed Kenta was the traitor, and pleaded with him to spare me. At least until I finish Kibou..." Satoshi grinned, "Want to see her?"

Oh, but every part of me wanted to flatten him right now, "No thanks, Satoshi. Maybe later..."

Satoshi nodded, as if what I'd said he had expected somehow, "Of course, don't want to see an unfinished project, I understand. I'll notify you when the time is right, certainly."

For the love of Izanagi, he scares the feelings out of me. Ignoring him, we continued running down the hallway. To the right, I observed the floor, finding several drops of blood. Not far from it, Hajime was clutching his leg and limping towards a sign that directed him to the nurse's office.

Nari sprinted to his side, "Hajime!" He looked at her, but she had already lifted him bridal style, "Shinji, Koneko, get the doors!"

Koneko and I did as requested and opened the doors for her to swiftly bring Hajime inside. Laying him down on one of the open beds, she began rummaging through one of the cabinets, "Well, didn't expect to be found like this..."

"What happened to you, Hajime? Did Kenta do this?" I was certain he was capable.

Hajime nodded, "He may have had a magnum. And shot me. But I did manage to trick him into spilling some key information to his motives."

Nari undressed Hajime to his underwear, much to his chagrin and despite his protesting the whole time. She finally got him to calm down so she could disinfect his wounds, "Bullets. Probably still lodged inside. I'm going to have to pull them out with pliers. It's going to hurt, a lot."

"Can I tell my story first? I don't want to pass out on yo-" he broke into a scream as Nari had already twisted the pliers into his shoulder and pulled the round out, "Why didn't you warn me first...?" he squeaked out, crying.

Nari was already wrapping his shoulder up, "Have you ever waxed your entire body before to remove the hair? If you don't do it quickly and without thinking too much about it, you'll never stop hurting."

I thought about that, "Does that mean you even waxed-"

Nari glared at me, as if daring for me to finish that sentence, "Anyways, your cheek will be fine. As for your thigh, that one might hurt more. More nerve endings where you got hit. I'll give you time to calm down first, though."

Koneko jumped back onto one of the other beds, "Wow, Nari. You sure do know a lot."

"I used to be a tutor, remember? Countless times one of my students would hurt themselves and I'd begrudgingly have to patch them up. Emiko said it was the only time I ever acted... motherly."

Sitting next to Koneko, I voiced a question aloud, "Do you want kids?"

Nari hesitated to continue applying pressure to Hajime's shoulder wound, "I never entertained the idea, before," she finished wiping his arm clean and applied a powerful adhesive bandage, "I had a pregnancy scare once... Because of..."

Oh, right. Her teacher.

"It uh... didn't happen. Test was wrong. And if it wasn't... Teach made sure of that..." Nari struggled to keep a straight face, "I... wouldn't mind having a family, though. Especially not with you, Shinji..."

I blushed furiously, trying to hide my face in my hands, "Oh, well... I'm not sure if I'm responsible enough to be a father yet, but... I'd grow into it..." I was sincere on that point, "It's sort of been a dream of mine. To have a loving family. The one I've yet to have."

Nari muttered under her breath, "Won't be too long, Mr. Kizami."

"What'd you say?" I asked. My hearing wasn't as good as when I first got here, due to all the crazy shit that happened.

"Alright, Hajime. Breathe deeply," As Hajime did as asked, Nari dug the pliers into his thigh and pulled the other bullet free of his leg. He erupted into another scream. Luckily for him, it was over quite quickly.

"Why does it... have to be so painful!?" Hajime whined, but Nari patched him up as best as she could manage, "Should I thank you? It still hurts..."

Nari grabbed a lollipop out from the jar left on the nurse's desk, "Here, for behaving yourself. Now you can explain what happened." Hajime just sweated nervously as he reluctantly took it from her.

In the main room, Daisuke called Panterbell over, and only then did he realize the scariest part of this game. Around Panterbell's paw was an incredibly small wristband that refused to budge. It was so tight on his leg that he couldn't slip it off. Oh, no...

"Panterbell... He's a part of this new game..." Daisuke muttered, in shock, "Why would they do that!?"

Misery glumly replied, sitting on the opposite corner from him, "Despair. I noticed it, too. His forbidden action is leaving this room. Hence why I ensured he'd stay in here."

Daisuke cursed to himself, "So he can't leave, huh? I hope someone brings back food for him, then."

"Daisuke... I have a confession for you," Misery finally admitted.

Daisuke glanced in her direction, "I don't swing that way. Probably."

Misery rolled her eyes in exasperation at how dull he could be, "Confess my love to you? As if. I just... Daisuke, I... I'm the one... who killed your sister."

"What!?" Daisuke replied almost instantaneously, a knee jerk reaction, "You... You bitch! Are you fuckin' serious!?"

"Why would I hurt you by lying!? In the maze, I was the one who killed her. And... Every time I see you... I feel that guilt welling up inside me..." She couldn't stop herself from crying from her one uncovered eye, before standing up and walking towards Daisuke.

Daisuke said nothing, just trying to process what he had just heard.

Misery offered her own life, "Kill me. If you want... I know I deserve it. It's why I wanted to be alone with you, Daisuke. I know you're not Despair... I've known who among you it was all along."

"Tell me who it is and I'll spare you," Daisuke threatened, glancing offhandedly at his wristband. _Monokuma did this on purpose, didn't he? With my forbidden action being what it is... Physically assault another participant. I just have to bluff, she'll tell me._

"No," Misery refused, "If I tell you, it will be recorded. Monokuma will know whether he's right or wrong, and then... Then all will be lost. Despair will rise again. I can't risk that."

Trembling, Daisuke struggled with himself. He'd die if he killed her, but isn't that what he's wanted all along? To avenge his sister? For this nightmare to end...? Finally settling on his choice, Daisuke lunged towards Misery, no qualms about what he had set his heart on.

Akihiko finally finished barricading the classroom he had found. Dusting his hands, he reached into his vest pocket and removed the letter Granberia had given him. He opened it up.

"Dear readers... Hey guys, it's Shizue. I know that you're reading this after the trial. As you already know... I'm dead. Takumi is, too. This would be my final memoir, my goodbye. So for each of you, and the others, I have to pass on my final thoughts. To each of you."

Shizue... Shinji had summarized it succinctly. Takumi tried to kill Nari to save Shinji and the others. He failed, and Shizue, masquerading as Nari, killed herself to save them. This must have been the note she left behind.

"For the seven of you in the hot zone. I'm aware not all of you may read this; maybe none of you ever will. But even then, I still have my thoughts to share for you all.

Kenji... What can I say to get through to you I had no ill will? Maybe nothing will, but if these words resonate with you, that's enough for me. You're an odd duck. Even within our friend group. But we both know your true nature; you just want to be loved like everyone else. And you found that in Hanako. People see you as a nuisance, but you're so much more than that. You're our comrade... I'm sorry I had to bow out early, but I know of all of us you'll understand my choices easiest. Sacrificing yourself for the good of others is the noble way to go, isn't it?

Hanako. We've been through alot together. Never even mentioned to Shinji how I was the one who actually bothered to _teach_ you cooking. Shinji's enthusiasm is fine, but not too productive. You may seem weak, but you're a strong girl, maybe the strongest out of us all. Keep Kenji in line and alive if you can. If anyone can, you will.

Nico. My best friend in the worst of times. Every convention we'd go to, you'd cheer me up with your voice acting. I needed it. You knew every word to say to comfort me, to keep me from leaping off of that edge into my own demise. I almost killed myself... Multiple times, but you always stayed my hand. You mean the absolute world to me for that, Nico. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met, and I'll never forget you. Try not to forget me, too?" Akihiko noted a small stain from a tear at this part. He himself was beginning to fear he might cry as well.

"Kibou, Kibou, Kibou. Unlike the others, I know that you and 'Senpai' are different. All I can say to you is to keep him in line like only you do. You may not be the most stable person, but I know that deep down you've grown attached to us all. At least, I think so. Please continue being 'Hope', even if it's just for one of us.

Satoshi, our esteemed fallen leader. I know more about you than the others expect. Your downright paranoia for Shinji sabotaging the results for others. Your disdain for Granberia. And all I have to say to you about that is to please... Please move past that. You're better than that, Satoshi. Be a leader we can be proud of. Be the leader you dreamed of being as a child.

Granberia, the one of our group on the other side. Always misjudged, always treated as the emotionless, quiet girl. But I know you; you have feelings and love for others as deep as any of us do. Level-headed as you are, you ignited a passion in more than just Shinji's heart...

I must admit how attached to you I've become. But I won't cry for you. You'd rather I stay strong, right?" Despite having written that, a couple of splotches on the ink said otherwise, "Shinji's right, though. You are a stealer of hearts. 3

Finally, Akihiko." I gulped. What would she have said to me? Could I handle this? "Always acting like you have something to prove. Too stubborn to admit your own feelings and insecurities. But you know that by now, haven't you?

I know it's hard for you, but... You have to trust in the others. They care for you, even if you think they don't. Everyone here loves you like a brother. So stop acting standoffish, get off your ass, and treat them the way you've ached to. Like long lost friends. Before it's too late, and all you can do is regret.

You can do it. Don't aim for being the number one boxer. Be the number one friend. It's within your grasp."

Akihiko set the paper down after reading what she had said to the others. _So this is what Granberia wanted me to know? Now, I understand... If that's how it is, I have to make myself useful. For... my friends._

"So that's it!?" Nari scolded me, "Your family history!? That doesn't help us at all. All it tells us is that your family was why Kenta got contracted to do the project anyways!"

I nodded, "Yeah, it's not much, but it does fill in some gaps. Plus, it's a start. There must be more files like this somewhere."

Hajime had already fallen asleep, having complained about how the bed was too comfortable not to sleep in. With that, the three of us opted to leave him be. The three of us stepped outside into the hallway, and Koneko gently closed the door behind us.

"Now what?" Koneko asked, unsure where we should head off to.

I glared at a door even further down the hallway, where cold wisps were emanating from, "You two head back to the main room for the sleep session. I have somewhere I want to check."

Nari refused, "Absolutely not. I'm not letting you wander off and die. You mean too much to me!"

Koneko agreed, "Yeah, take us with or else!" With such a fierce glare and pout from both of them, how could I resist?

"Fine, we'll all go back to the main room. The thing I'm concerned about isn't that important," I admitted, "Come on, guys."

As we opened the door into the main room, we found Daisuke embracing Misery and crying softly into her shoulder, "I just wanted her back... I did all of this for her, god dammit!"

Misery was rubbing his back, trying to comfort him, "I know, Daisuke. You didn't deserve this. And neither did she."

"What the hell happened in here?" I asked, somewhat wary.

Daisuke jumped away from Misery with a small blush on his face, "Misery was making me feel better, okay? I just had to learn to forgive and forget. That's all."

Nari laughed, "Silly Daisuke. Girls are for straight guys," she stuck her tongue out at him when he flipped her off, "I'm just teasing... Daisuke, though. Really, are you alright?"

Daisuke gave her a thumbs up as he winked, "Damn right. My sister wants me to live through this. More importantly, I've done my own thing enough. I have to stick with my friends now, in this hard time."

The rest of us nodded. Finally, we were coming together as a group. If this kept up, we might actually... And before I could finish that thought, we all fell to the floor, unconscious. The drugs had kicked in, hadn't they?

The floor tasted awful, I thought as I finally stirred. I then realized my fortune. I hadn't been stabbed to death. Yay?

I quickly looked over to Koneko and Nari, whom were both unharmed. Thank fuck for that... Panterbell, Misery, and Daisuke stirred as well.

I slowly rose to my feet. Could the victim have been Kenta? I looked to the monitor, and gasped.

The victim was...

The video showed the nurse's office. Inside, Hajime's body was shown. He had been stabbed in the chest several times, the blade left impaled in his body. And like that, only twelve of us were left...


	34. Chapter 4: Despair's Thirteen 2

**Author's Note: This was a quick update. Good lord, but things have certainly taken a turn here. In multiple ways. Be prepared for controversy and despair.**

I cursed to myself when Kenta stepped inside, "Oh, it was the boy. What luck..."

"You did it, didn't you?" I accused him, "You already tried to kill him!"

Kenta brushed off my accusations, "How droll. If I was the traitor, I'd have killed him during the waking hours. He was certainly not a threat to me in his current state."

Daisuke pounded his fist into his other hand, "Really, just dismissing his death like that!? What the hell, man!?"

"I am looking for patterns. So far, a member of the Hot Zone was killed. Then a member of the instigators here. I'd venture a guess and say that next will be a Cold Zone survivor," Kenta theorized, "That being said, I feel quite safe knowing my life is fine for another round."

Misery walked towards him. She had this look of unbelievable fury on her face, "Out."

Kenta smirked, "I have a magnum, bitch. I'll shoot you if you even-"

Misery lifted him off of his feet and held him, choking him with no hesitation, "Are you forgetting who I am? Why I became Despair? Your fault lies in the center of that."

He tried to speak, but he was unable to. Misery finally dropped him onto the floor, where he proceeded to get up and run. What a coward.

As Kenta fled from the scene, Satoshi dropped in, "Awe, it's Hajime? That's no good."

"What do you want?" Nari demanded, already sick of his bullshit, "If you have nothing to say, fuck off."

Satoshi just grinned, "Fine. Maybe next time the traitor'll help me out..."

With that, he left.

Daisuke shuddered, "That guy scares me so badly. Wouldn't be surprised if he's the damn traitor."

I was thinking to myself. A Cold Zone survivor would be killed next? No, no way. Kenta was just bullshitting. But then who could the traitor be?

Both Kenta and Satoshi were too obvious to be the answer, but then, who?

The board showed the twelve survivors of the game. The three Hot Zone survivors; Satoshi, Akihiko, and Granberia. The four Antagonist survivors; Misery, Fuuko, Panterbell?, and Kenta. And the five of us that survived the Cold Zone: Nari, Koneko, Daisuke, Shinju, and myself. Statistically, we would be next on the chopping block. Could I prevent that!?

Although the board placed us differently. The first six in a line were; Shinju, Koneko, Daisuke, Granberia, Akihiko, and Fuuko. The second six were the rest of us; Myself, Nari, Satoshi, Kenta, Panterbell, and Misery. Was there any significance in that placement? I couldn't tell.

I walked over to Panterbell and lifted him up. Surely enough, he too, had a bracelet. Well, shit...

Despite how in danger his life was, he snuggled up and curled himself into a ball in my hands, as if everything was as chill as ever. Good kitten, at least...

Daisuke headed to the doorway, "His action is leaving this room. He needs food and water. I'll go scouring for it."

I was somewhat worried. Where was Shinju and the others? "Someone should stay here with Misery and Panterbell. Groups of three are important, but I wanna find the others."

Checking my wristband, I noted the time. An hour and fifty five minutes were left. Another two hour time period, another chance at finding more information before we blacked out again.

Nari nodded, realizing what I intended to do, "Koneko, can you stay with Panterbell? He feels safest with you and Granberry."

Panterbell meowed in agreement and jumped onto Koneko before lying down and purring softly into her hair, his one paw extended over her head as he stretched out, "Well, how can I say no to this precious little guy?"

Nari and I left the three of them behind and hurried down the hallway. Daisuke had already disappeared from sight. I wasn't worried about him, though. He'd never be targeted by the traitor.

No, the traitor wanted to instill despair in one of us. And with Daisuke effectively ruled out, I had concluded that it was Akihiko. He's already lost faith in his friends, so maybe this was their goal all along. He's lost all of his closest friends now...

So who was left that mattered to him? Hajime was an odd choice, but presumably one of the few of us he trusted. Then I felt sick to my stomach. Shinju's group. Akihiko was close to Shinju and Granberia, meaning they might be targeted next. Fuck...

I hastened my pace, with Nari complaining for me to slow down.

In the freezer room, Satoshi brushed his hand down Kibou's frozen face. He had managed to force her neck bone back into place and had laid her head in one of the open racks for corpses. He just needed a body, and legs... "Soon, my darling... We'll be reunited..."

"I should have fucking known. Sick," Akihiko called Satoshi out from the doorway, "Why is she here, Satoshi?"

Satoshi seemed confused, "Whatever do you mean, Aki? This is Kibou... She's just a bit under the weather."

Akihiko shook his head, "Dead. The word you want is dead."

"Don't say that to my face..." Satoshi threatened, "Not when you're the only person left I trust... Shinji's a killer. Daisuke's a miscreant. The girls are all whores... No, only you understand me now... Akihiko, help me remake her! Just get me parts... I'll repay you however I can..."

Was this guy for real right now? "Satoshi... Shizue wanted to tell you something."

Satoshi didn't lighten up even after hearing her name, "No need to concern myself with dead people. Not while Kibou needs my help..."

"Do you really not care about us anymore?" He slowly glanced over at me, "Like, for real? Hajime's dead. Someone is going to kill us all, Satoshi."

"Doesn't matter. Already done," Satoshi murmured, "Dead on arrival. All hope is lost. Never meant to survive. Game is rigged."

Aki demanded, "Satoshi! Tell me now, damnit! What secret did Kiyo tell you!?"

Satoshi looked up, "Crazy... Crazy, me? No, no, no no no no no... I'm the only sane man left. I still value the right things. The rest of you have all been lost to despair, to insanity. Must stay focused, must fix Kibou..." he looked up at Akihiko, "Why are you still here!?"

"I want answers, Satoshi! I've been left in the dark this whole game!" Satoshi sighed and glanced up at Akihiko, "Please... If there's any part of you left that cares..."

"Fine, fine, fine, fine," he pushed Kibou's rack in and stomped over to a nearby table, "Found folder. No use to me. Might be to you. Out, now. Kibou doesn't want to be seen like this. No, she's not ready to return. Must have parts. Must have help. Where are the sewing kits!?"

Satoshi shoved the folder into Akihiko's hands and forced him out of the room, closing it behind him.

Akihiko reluctantly opened the folder and began reading, "What is this...? 'A List of Forbidden Actions'. Wait... This is all of ours!?"

Speechless, Akihiko dropped the folder, his eyes wider than ever before, "Misery is a member of Despair. And so is..."

Akihiko activated his bracelet and grimaced at what it said. Forbidden Action; Expose the traitor or the member of Despair.

What was he to do now...?

Shinju opened her eyes and scanned the room around her. Surely enough, the room was still barricaded. More importantly, Granberia and Fuuko were both safe and sound. She sighed in relief, thankful that none of them had died.

Still, her heart was not calm. Someone _had_ died, and she would have to traverse the hallways back to the main room, or find one of the others who does know of the victim. She feared who it could be, but knew she didn't have a choice now.

Granberia was already dismantling the barricade, "Granberry! The hell!?"

She turned to me, that same vacant expression, "We have to keep searching for clues. Or we die."

Fuuko stood up and brushed herself off, "No need to worry, Shinju. I promised you we'd be safe. I could feel it."

"Traitor," Granberia accused her, "Or not. I don't distrust you, but you must admit it is suspicious to promise that and be right. Watch whom you say that around."

Fuuko slowly nodded, "Uh...Right. Um, Granberia?" she looked back at Shinju's sister, "Can you uh... Call me by name?"

Granberia nodded, "Understood, Tojiko. I'll address you as that from now on."

Shinju moved the last of the furniture with Granberia's help, and the trio walked into the hallways, continuing their search.

Fifteen minutes later, Daisuke smirked as he hit the damn jackpot. The cafeteria had a huge bag of cat food in it. He grabbed a large mixing bowl and filled it to the brim with water. Lugging a thirty pound bag of mixed cat food, he carefully marched back to the main room, his mission complete.

Kenta walked into the nurse's room and inspected Hajime's body. Damn it! His magnum was gone. Did the traitor take it? Or...

Kenta cursed to himself. He had to find a way to keep himself safe when the pattern demanded the blood of one of his allies again.

Misery was untouchable for him, so he'd have to target Fuuko. Sad, since she had some potential. An Ultimate level of skill in 3D animation she had. It was so impressive, he wondered if his interference in her family's bloodline had something to do with it.

No, couldn't be, he decided to himself.

Nari began slowing down, so I had asked if she'd like to rest with me in one of the rooms. She had agreed, and for once not verbally destroyed me. She too, must have understood my worries.

Thankfully, a classroom was nearby, with eighteen desks inside. Nari laid down on one of the desks closest to the front, breathing heavily.

I decided to do the most protagonist thing I could. I sat in the leftmost desk that allowed me to see outside of the building. Neither of us had even considered breaking out through these windows. The only reason they weren't boarded up like the others was because there was no ledge. The other side was a four-hundred feet drop at least, to the beach area below. Building a class next to the overlook of a cliff? Only at Hope's Peak...

Nothing was on the desk, and these desks had no undersides to them. Knowing that, I leaned the entire chair I was sitting in back against the rear wall. That was when I stared up at the ceiling and began counting the tiles.

Then I found an oddity, something worth my time. One of the tiles was colored differently. Why? I got up out of the seat and stood on the nearby desk, pushing the tile upwards. Peering into the area above the tiles, I spotted...something. Praying it wasn't a trap or a spider, I grabbed it and pulled it out. It was another folder.

Inside were papers labeled 'Sakai Project Dossiers'.

Oh, shit... Opening up the first one, I felt my heart ache.

Archer. Mayumi Okishima. Born to parents on a shrine housed on Okishima Island, the island of the Seven Ancient Samurai. Founded in honor of the royal family samurai slain here in the 12th century, the Okishima clan has dwindled to a select few over time due to societal changes. The head of the Okishima clan was proud to participate in our experiments, if only to have a child that wouldn't abandon them this time.

Okay, so this details our backstories and families, huh? Alright... I'll go through this and look for useful information.

Babysitter. Emiko Norita. Norita was one of the first post-WW2 electronics companies to spring up in Japan. A proud producer of camera electronics from 1951 on, Toshio Norita, the founder, exported his cameras and lenses worldwide, eventually expanding to machine tools and more. When Norita went defunct, the family remained influential in designing newer technology. Toshio's grandnephew was ecstatic to participate, hoping to have his child one day rebuild a new Norita company.

Boxer. Akihiko Tanaka. Though an incredibly common surname in Japan, the 4th, in fact, Akihiko is related by blood to Kakuei Tanaka, known as the Shadow Shogun. His daughter and son-in-law both later took power in political offices, though neither became the Prime Minister of Japan like he did. This family foresaw a prodigy child as crucial to cementing their lineage in political positions.

Butler. Yoshikazu Shinozaki. Last in a line of a larger family tree that has been known for occult research and studies. This particular branch of the family instead focused on its ever-present loyalty in serving the Tokugawa Shogunate, and later, to the Emperors. The family had not received an important position for the latest Emperor and hoped a prodigy that made headlines would be sufficient.

Cheerleader. Daisuke Ichijou. A descendant of the esteemed Ichijou family, one of the five families of the Fujiwara clan. Though the family on the surface has long since been considered defunct, the Ichijou family still commands considerable power in the underworld, rivaling even the Kuzuryu family in terms of members and power. The family sought to emerge from the shadows and overtake political power from the current politicians.

Cosplayer. Shizue Koga. A child of the Koga clan, one of the most successful families of the Meiji era. When Takahiro Koga used the assets of the family to create Koga Industries, many saw it as a pointless venture. Now one of the greatest producers of games, anime, manga, and other entertainment products on the market in Japan, Renji sought for his third child to be as brilliant as he was, someone able to match the brilliance of Hisao and Saeko.

Firestarter. Kenji Amagi. A lesser-known family that occupies the area around Mount Amagi. They have been known to be used for wars of treachery as spies. Due to their heavily classified lifestyle, the Amagi family is virtually nonexistent in most modern records. A recent branch of the family has decided to try and undermine the veil of secrecy, and also release high-class secrets of the Japanese government and military. Due to their crimes, they professed to Hope's Peak to allow them to save their child through our program.

Maid. Hanako Ikeda. The current family that heads the Soka Gakkai International, the largest organization of Buddhists worldwide, currently under the affairs of Daisaku Ikeda. His cousin Ryotaro sought to establish the family beyond its religious beginnings to lead Japan to an age of purity and kindness.

Poet. Shinju Sakyubasu, formerly Shinju Tojo. Descendants of the infamous war criminal and Japanese general Hideki Tojo. The new head of the family sought to change his name, but was sought for his relation to a still-famous military official. Reluctantly, they agreed, though their legal name was changed in return for his cooperation, and the family's records of relation to Tojo disposed of.

Rising Star. Nico B. Real name purged from most databanks due to requests by the Family. Nico is actually a former Kuzuryu, who sought their own addition to our ranks. The younger brother of the current leader wished to undermine his brother's son and oust the Ultimate Yakuza from his position in the near future.

Romantic. Shinji Kizami. The great-grandson of Hideyoshi Yamato, a member of the royal family. His esteemed grandfather is Yuki Kizami, the chairman of the Board of Directors and our greatest investor who funded the Sakai Project. Yuki sought for his own grandchild to become a perfect candidate for one day reestablishing his role in the government. His expectation was to make his grandson Emperor, since his blood put him ahead of the current Emperor, if one took claims of Hideyoshi's legitimacy seriously.

Speedreader. Kibou Iwata. Granddaughter to Satoru Iwata, the president of Nantendo. After Satoru's rise to fame as one of the greatest purveyors and creators amongst the video game industry, which has now evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry in the span of a few decades, the family sought an heir who could do Satoru proud, though her parents were estranged with the company for some time in the 80s.

Student Council President. Satoshi Hondo. Name changed but actually a member of the family of Soichiro Honda, founder of the international company of the same name. The only case where a specific talent was requested; something that would make him suitable for management of the company once Takanobu Ito relinquishes his role as CEO.

Survivor. Takeshi Kurosawa. Born to an esteemed family known from making films to performing detective work to maintaining older villages in historical protection missions across Japan. The family seen as most expendable for testing out the tragedy genes.

Tamer. Koneko Sakai. Descended from a former family of daimyos and more recently, an offshoot of the family of WW2 general Koji Sakai. With the rise in power of the Sakai family name thanks to Kenta Sakai, he sought to craft a family member with abilities as amazing as his own. Later augmented further upon personal request.

Thief. Natsume Togami. An heir apparent to the Togami family, one of the most powerful and influential families in modern day Japan. The mother wished to oust the family and have her child be the winner. Due to the rarity of us receiving a Togami candidate, she was accepted immediately.

Tutor. Nari Kawasaki. A proud descendant of Shozo Kawasaki, the founder of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, one of the most prominent international corporations today. The family sought to revive its importance with a new go-getting heir who would raise children to be beyond what many believed possible.

Womanizer. Takumi Adachi. Born into the family of Kenzo Adachi, a Japanese politician born to a family of samurai tracing themselves back, perhaps to the Genpei war between the Taira and Minamoto clans culminating in 1192. Sought to revive its importance through a newly crowned prodigy.

On the final page was another document altogether; the 'Incident'.

"Due to unfortunate circumstances, one of the eighteen children, the son of the Tojo family for the experiment was stillborn. This nearly ruined the legitimacy of the entire project, until luck found a way. One of the other families had a set of fraternal twins. One of the twins was adopted by the Tojo family, keeping her original name; Shinju."

Woah. Shinju's not related to her family by blood. Damn. That's some surprising shit. Who's her twin, then? I looked for the name on the bottom of the document, fearing that they were dead. If they were, that could just break her heart.

I prayed that it wasn't Satoshi or Takumi, since that would have been so many different shades of fucked up.

Looking through it, I spotted a picture of her and her twin along with their names; Shinji and Shinju Kizami. Oh, that makes sense... Wait... WAIT...

In the loudest voice I could manage, so much so I strained my vocal cords yelling it, I had only two words for this, "The fuck!?"

Nari ran over after hearing me scream in agony, and when I handed her the documents, she read through them at a breakneck pace. When she got to the last page, she burst out laughing, "Ahahahahahaha! You banged your twin!? What kind of surprise is that!? Damn, I thought I was the kinky one! Ahahahaha!"

I wanted to puke. I didn't, but oh did I ever want to. What could I even say to this information? WHAT!? Please, please, please for the love of all that is fuckin' holy, be a lie... I prayed to whatever gods would listen to me that this was fake.

"What did I do to deserve this!?"

In an attempt to cheer me up, Nari joked, "Come on, Shinji. There's worse surprises. She could have been your mom."

"Not helping!"

"I know, I know. I shouldn't make jokes... Hey, that means I've slept with twins at the same time..." I glared at her harder than I ever have before, "Silver lining, right? I'd even say you were made for each other."

She dodged my attempt at smacking her upside her damn head, "Not funny!"

Nari headed to the door, "Come on, Shinji, let's share this development with the others. They'll love it!"

"You motherfucker..." I grimaced, wanting to die a little bit.

"That's your stick, not mine," she rebuked me. Wait, was that another incest joke?

All the way back to the main room, I contemplated on where I'd hide bleach if I were Monokuma.

Nari stopped after realizing how choked up I was on this and asked, "Shinji, you alright? I know I'm joking about it, but it really is somethin' you need to come to terms with."

"What are you on about now?"

"I mean, you have a choice to make," she leaned up against the wall, "You can show her this page," she held it out to me, "Clear the air and try to salvage this relationship of yours into a sibling one."

I moaned, "I said I wished I wasn't an only child, but I never wanted this!"

Nari offered, "Or we could just burn it right now. Pretend it never happened. We can act like it's a lie and live on as we are."

"That's wrong. Lie to her? I couldn't do that, Nari."

"Didn't you love her? Can you just abandon those feelings? I mean, you couldn't even abandon one of us, knowing the moral consequences of your actions. Both are taboo." Nari argued, "That being said, I'm not going to influence you one way or the other. I'm dating the both of you regardless what you choose."

I didn't want to think about this. I sniffled a little, on the verge of begging some mysterious entity to tell me why my life couldn't be simple!? Not even once!?

Daisuke arrived back at the main room with a smile on his face as he fed the ravenous kitten Panterbell. Misery smiled as he gently caressed the kitten, trying to soothe him in these trying times.

Koneko commented, "You're a good caretaker of animals, Daisuke. I'm surprised."

Daisuke scratched the kitten under his chin, "I have a cat back at home. An obese son of a bitch, too. Named him Catzilla. Probably hiding somewhere in my neighborhood as we speak, feasting on the local children..." he laughed, "That was a joke. He only likes breakfast foods."

The door opened behind them. Shinju, Granberia, and Fuuko walked inside, their heads held in shame, "We didn't find anything useful..."

Granberia frowned even harder than the other two, "Tch. Nowhere did I break into did we find anything. Why lock doors if there's nothing inside 'em!?"

"Uh, privacy?" Daisuke offered.

"Whose privacy would Monokuma be concerned about?" Fuuko offhandedly commented.

Koneko joked, "If I had to guess, Shinji. I mean, he's alone with Nari right now. I can't begin to think what's taking them so long."

Fuuko blushed upon hearing that, "H-how indecent!"

Granberia shrugged, "Also true."

Before any of them could say anything more, I walked into the room and handed Shinju the documents I'd found this time, "Here, read up. I need to go drink bleach."

"Wait, Shinji-" she grabbed my arm, "We just met up again. What's wrong?"

I wrestled my way out of her grip, "N-nothing!" Damn, my voice cracked. She'd know now, "Nari and I have something important to discuss. So please..."

Shinju grabbed me by the back of my shirt, "Council meeting, now."

Daisuke, Fuuko, and Misery waved us off as we transferred into a nearby classroom.

Granberia, Koneko, and Nari sat on the sidelines like judges to the spectacle that was my life.

Shinju read through the documents, and after getting to the last page, set it aside on the table, "So, what's the problem? Nothing weird on those documents."

Nari pouted, "You said you'd give her the document, Shinji. Did you lie to me?"

"No, it should have been the last page," I reached over and Shinju handed it to me. Damn right it was, I showed it to Koneko and Granberia, who both sat in stunned silence after reading what I'd handed them.

Koneko managed to find her voice first, "Uh, Shinju.. You are mistaken, right? I would expect you'd react to this a lot more... dramatically."

Shinju didn't say anything for the longest time, to which Granberia asked, "Did you find this out sometime before?"

"What!? No! Of course not!" Shinju argued back, "That would just be...wrong."

Son of a despair-mongering whore! "You knew this the entire time!?"

Shinju blushed, "No! Maybe! Yes..."

And then I died of an aneurism. An aneurism of sheer rage.

I was being facetious. Exaggerating. Though I did feel multiple intense feelings, all at once. Betrayal, anger, sadness, confusion, disgust, despair.

How did Leon Kuwata deal with his cousin Kanon confessing to him literally at least once every day since she was six? And stalking his every date? Then again, he made a bet with her that he expected would be easy, so how opposed was he to the idea? And lord knows Komaru was rumored to have a brother complex.

Nari shook her head, "Wait, wait, wait. Roll that back. You had a crush on him in middle school, didn't you?"

"Well..." Shinju was reluctant to admit it, "So... The reason I tried to befriend him in the first place is because my dad told me the truth about him... But he... And I..."

Granberia could barely believe what she was hearing, "Holy hell. And the entire time you've been talking mad shit about this manwhore... You were in love with your brother!?"

On a list of things I'd rather have died not knowing, would this not be the biggest one of all!?

"Okay, let me just... Try to piece this together. You befriended me because of our relationship. And then you began to like me, knowing how taboo it was. I turned you down, and that led to you to becoming an assistant of Despair and killing most of your family and betraying us all here. And all of the abuse you gave to me was while you knew the whole time that I was your god damned sibling!?"

Nari tried to lighten the mood with another terrible joke, "Hey... I'm not the sickest person in the room. Woo!" no one found it funny, "God, Shinju... I know I enjoy some hardcore incest games in my spare time, but to actually do it... Wow."

Koneko tilted her head, "So... I know this is going to be pretty bad of me... But... There's a problem?"

"Yes there's a problem!" I yelled, trying my hardest to calm down and maintain my composure, "This is just..."

"Well, I'm a tamer, remember?" Koneko reminded us, "And in nature... it happens. Not often, but just like homosexuality, it does occur. Sometimes in nature incest is even necessary for survival or promoted. Clownfish children will change gender to mate with their own parents to survive in times of hardship."

I sighed, "Okay, for animals it might not be that weird, but we're not just animals. We're people, too. Would you be okay mating with Kenta?"

Koneko shook her head, "No, but I'm not attracted to him. If I was, it would likely be a different story."

Shinju walked over to a corner and sulked in it, looking away from us, "I should have told him. I know that. I just... I've lost so much because of my feelings for him already. How could I just...forget those feelings deep in my heart? I didn't choose to be related to him..."

Fuuko walked in, probably having overheard this entire discussion of the Second Council of Waifus, "Uh... Daisuke asked me to remind you guys it's almost time... What did I just listen to?"

"The worst kind of heresy," Granberia deadpanned.

Nari, however, shrugged it off, "Shinju. Regardless of your feelings, you should have been upfront. Had you just told him what you knew; you'd probably be together now anyways."

"The fuck, Nari?"

"Let me just run you through a checklist. You fell in love with an old-fashioned dominatrix who would sometimes push you underwater in the hot springs to keep you awake," Mayu only did that once... I think?

"A thief who watched you kill someone and who forces herself on you despite that," And consistently, might I add.

"A girl who could be literally anyone you wanted and loved to roleplay." She was really good at it, though. Too good, sometimes...

"A borderline furry who sometimes comes off as total jailbait," I glanced to Koneko, who was scratching her ear with her foot. Well...

"A girl with every fetish in the book whom you've ravaged in multiple ways that might be considered offensive," Nari smirked, just thinking about it, "And your sister is the line you can't bear to cross? A line you've crossed in fantasy before?"

"You said it yourself! It's...different," I shot down that argument in any way I could, "I may be open-minded, but I'm not some deviant!"

Fuuko walked up to me and patted my head, "I get it, Shinji. You're just mad she didn't trust you, aren't you?"

No, no there was more to it than just that, "That is probably the biggest issue about it right now. Really, Shinju? After all this time you wouldn't even tell me something that important?"

Shinju faced me and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped short, just biting her lip. Eventually, she answered me, "I... I know I can't be forgiven for this one. I'll just... I'll just leave now..."

Before I could stop her, she bursted out from the room, tears flying across the floor.

I moved to the door in a desperate attempt to stop her, but by the time I exited into the hallway, she was gone. Koneko moved by me, "I'll sniff her out. Just stay here."

I sighed, knowing I'd have to leave it to her, "I know you'll talk sense into her, Koneko."

Koneko nodded and flew off down after her at lightning speed.

Fuuko moved by me towards the main room, "I'll uh... Be in here. Get me when you find her."

With that, Granberia, Nari, and I decided to hold up in the room opposite the main one, "Well, that was an adventure," Granberia commented.

"You're not shaken up by this?" I asked, somewhat impressed.

"I nearly passed out from shock," with how calmly she said it, I'd never have been the wiser, "Not even I can brush off that plot twist."

Nari straddled up to me and kissed my cheek, "Are you okay, Shinji? I know this must be hard for you..."

I gave her a confident nod, "I'll survive. When we find Shinju later... I'll... try to resolve this peacefully. I can forgive her... But I don't know if I can..."

"Rock her body right? Pull out? Of the relationship, I mean..," Granberia joked, and when I glared at her, she winked, "I'm not a betting girl, but you're not known for your strength of will."

I sighed, "What about my moral code? I'm pretty sure that-"

Granberia reminded me of a memory engraved in my heart, "Any time your emotions flare up, morals don't factor. Grave Dangers... Your harem. I know you well enough by now."

Nari interrupted us, "Um, Shinji... I have something I should have said to you earlier, but... I was afraid to."

"I swear to God if you tell me we're family too, I'll never speak to you again," I threatened.

She didn't lighten up at my attempt at a joke, "It is about your family, but... Not that way."

Granberia immediately caught on, "Ohohoho... I know the secret."

"Secret? About my family? Nari, what do you mean?"

Nari looked deeply into my eyes, "Shinji... I'm pregnant."

"Oh, of cour-" I did a quadruple take while Granberia laughed mirthfully at the incredulous look on my tired face, "What even!?"

Nari, blushing heavily the whole time, explained, "I uh... Had suspicions before the game started. Kaz figured it out because he was the one who burned our garbage in the incinerator. He guessed it was me. Probably why he wanted to save me. Shizue knew, too."

Granberia stopped smiling and curled up in a ball after hearing those names, "Now I'm sad... They died not just for Nari, but for..."

"Our...child?" I asked, still in utter shock. Nari nodded, and I felt my entire world changing in my mind. On the bright side, this was her fault completely. She never gave me options. That being said... Being a father? I never thought I'd ever get to live out my dream...

Unable to stop myself from crying, I clutched Nari tightly, holding her close, "Nari... I'm... I'm so happy..."

Nari seemed surprised that my reaction was positive, but she quickly hugged me back, "I am, too."

Even as the numbness began to wash over me, even as I felt the sleeping agent injected into my arm, I smiled as I held her the entire time. The last thing I remember is the sound of her gently beating heart so close to mine...

Akihiko awoke earlier than he had expected. Smirking to himself, he moved the tile he's replaced and jumped down from the roof he had been hiding out on. It had kept him safe for that last round, which was mattered to him.

Sparing little time, he ran at full speed to the main room. He burst inside and found the screen blank, "Monokuma, what's the deal!?"

Monokuma appeared in the room, "What's wrong, Akihiko?"

"Why aren't you showing us who died in here!?" He demanded of the bear.

"Well, I won't spoil who died! Someone has to find the body first!" Monokuma gazed around the room. Misery was holding Panterbell, but Daisuke was gone.

Akihiko growled, "Fine. Where are they? You know who I mean..." I held up the document, "Take me to them now."

Monokuma sighed. How did he do that if he's not alive? "I can update your bracelet with a map. However, if anyone follows you into the room I direct you to... It will count as your forbidden action."

Risky, but acceptable, "Fine," my bracelet beeped, and I clicked it, "Thanks, bear."

Misery tried to stop him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm after the final boss," Aki smirked, "Once I'm done, we'll all get out of here."

With that, Akihiko hustled out of the room, following the instructions on his bracelet. It was overly convoluted, likely so he wouldn't be easily followed. Did Monokuma care about him or was it something else?

Ungh...? I opened my eyes. I was in a huge room now. What the hell? Granberia and Nari were both missing. I quickly shot to my feet, worry already taking over. Wait, calm down. Don't panic. Only one person is dead and if Aki is the target, it wouldn't be them. Right?

The lights switched on, and I found myself in a vast gymnasium. So large that with every step that I took, the echo reverberated across the room several times. Near the two doors on either end of the room, just between them in fact, was a white table. On top of it was a present box? It had yellow ribbons and wrapping.

Obviously, I was meant to open it. I glanced worriedly at my bracelet. I had yet to check my forbidden action. What if it was like Nico's? I hadn't checked it because of that fear in me.

What if that was the trap here? I open that box and I die...? With that hesitation, I just stared at it for a while.

Satoshi grinned eerily at Daisuke as he finally stirred, "Hi."

Daisuke screamed in surprise, "What the hell!? What are you doing here!?"

Satoshi reminded him, "Um, you were the one who was brought here. This is just outside the freezer. Oh, I know... The traitor brought you with the parts, didn't they!?"

"Parts?" Daisuke gulped, fearful of what Satoshi meant by that.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with..." Satoshi opened the freezer door, "Get out of here, rapscallion. My work is already difficult enough as it is."

Daisuke, still confused as to why he had been moved, headed back down to the main room. He walked in to see Misery and Panterbell, "Um... What happened? Where's Fuuko!?"

"Don't know," Misery answered earnestly, "Until someone finds the victim, Monokuma won't update the monitor, either."

Daisuke cursed, "Well, it's not us or Satoshi."

"Or me," Kenta peeked in, "If I am right, it should be Nari, Koneko, Shinju, or Shinji. Since you're safe."

"Enough with your pattern shit! Do you have anything constructive to say!?"

Kenta grinned sinisterly, "Oh, no reason. Fuuko's not here? Hm... I'll be on my way, then."

Kenta walked off, probably looking for her. Daisuke felt a bad feeling, one that had always been there, but was more powerful than before, "I... I think I should go find the others."

"No," Misery grabbed him by the ear, "We've been splintered into too many groups. If one of us dies, the other has to care for Panterbell."

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah, you're right... The others won't let us down."

I finally decided to open the box. Monokuma wouldn't set up a trap that obvious. Plus, I had pounded on and tried to force my way out of the two doorways. Both of them were welded shut, and I was trapped inside.

I wavered my hand over the present box before flipping the top off. I looked inside and...

Inside was...was...Error. Error.

Shinji_ has stopped responding. Would you like to send Windows an error report?

Multiple errors occurring... Trying to ...

I fOuNd yOU...

Data corrupted. Rebooting in safe mode...

POV disabled... Redirecting...

 **-Akihiko's POV-**

Finally. My bracelet had directed me here, to the gymnasium. I walked up to the door. I tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. No, more than that. It was welded shut. How annoying...

Thunk! A swift right punch flattened the door in front of me. What time did I have to fuck around? Inside this room was the member of Ultimate Despair.

Stepping inside, the lights turned on again. Were there movement sensors in here?

In the center of the room, Shinji faced away from me. I called out, "Hey... Shinji?"

"Check the box."

Three simple words. Unaware of what he meant, I noticed a table in the room. I walked over to the box he meant, and jumped back in horror. Inside was a severed arm. Seeing a ring on it, I felt my heart drop.

I gently picked up the finger and removed the ring. And when I read what was engraved, it sent chills down my spine. "To my rival romantic, it says..."

Oh... Nari Kawasaki was dead and missing, and this was all that was left of her...

I set the ring down on the table and faced Shinji Kizami, the Ultimate Arbiter, "It was you all along..."

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked, still looking away from me, his head slumped forward, his hands tensed up.

"Your girlfriend was killed by Junko to send you into despair. She learned of your existence through Yuki Kizami, your grandfather. He contacted her to try and get her to motivate you to do something with your life... Just before he died. And Junko made you go through hell. And after the Grave Dangers were killed, you went comatose." This was just half of the information that document I had found had explained to me.

Shinji didn't reply for a while, "I remember that... I told you guys. Jun dying, killing the Dangers... How I woke up and was asked to attend..."

I had to disclose the truth, "That's not it, though While you were asleep... Junko used you. Rather, you were left in despair so powerful it made you comatose. And she directed that to the Reserve Course! Of the 2,360 of them, two had been murdered. One became Izuru, and the rest committed mass suicide! Because your power spread despair to them!"

"..." Shinji uttered no words, but he grunted ever so slightly, as if to acknowledge what I had said.

"And then she used it again... To destroy the world," I hated having to do this, "You were a tool of Junko's... But worse than that, you're Ultimate Despair. You were the one who engaged in tricking us... Having us befriend each other for a year... And then forcing us to go through endless simulations! Even now. You probably manipulated Kaz, Mayu, and Takumi to do what they did."

Shinji finally replied to me, "Is that so? You've decided to pin this all on me?"

I clenched my teeth, "No more playing the victim, Shinji! These documents prove it! Fuuko put you through those damn simulations for six months after because it was you on that footage! Choking Shinju out! You even betrayed her, after making her kill everyone she ever loved!"

Shinji finally about-faced, and never before had I ever been more hesitant to fight someone. His aura was an inky black darkness, one that felt as if it would consume me if I came close. His eyes were a deep shade of crimson, and his face was curled into a cruel grin.

He just breathed loudly for a moment before speaking to me, "I have no time for you, boxer. Go overdose on Raxath and meet your brother. Tell him how much you let him down."

"Bastard!" I lifted my fists, "I'll end this now, Shinji! If I kill you... We'll be free to go!"

Shinji smirked, and one of the rings on his fingers glowed. Then he... He transformed.

Pink eyes, tan skin, grey hair... Though he wore the same clothes, his height and weight were different. He was no longer Shinji Kizami... He was now Juzo Sakakura, the former Ultimate Boxer!

"If it isn't what that school thought could possibly replace me... You and that council president are both jokes," he was already pissing me off, "Some pompous brat like you, competing with me? Ridiculous. Out of my way."

Juzo walked towards me, but I stepped in his way, "No, Shinji. I'm ending this here."

Juzo sighed, "If that is what you demand..." He took an attack stance, and I recognized it immediately. He was using his power as the arbiter to manipulate Shizue's talent to become others. However, he didn't even need clothes for it anymore.

Unfortunately for him, I knew his trade weakness. Shinji can't channel two Ultimate talents at once. So if he's using Shizue's talent now, he can't access Juzo's.

Confident, I took to attacking him directly. He didn't dodge, perfect. With all of my might, I charged my favorite strike, the Chest Burster. With all of the speed my momentum allowed me, my right fist soared at him, so fast the air around it was pushed away by the speed of it.

My attack struck, knocking him back. My fist had torn a hole in his clothes, and blood dripped off of his chest from where I struck him. But how had he survived that!?

Juzo grinned at me, "You've got spunk. It's a shame you're weak." He moved, almost teleported towards me at how quickly he was approaching me. I threw several punches that he either deflected or ducked under before he landed a single punch to my jaw.

I felt one of my teeth loosen up and fall out, "Son of a..." Now I knew I couldn't hold back at all. We clashed, and for every serious hit he landed on me, I returned it twofold. He was good, really good. However, he couldn't beat me with such pitiful power.

I knocked him off balance and unleashed another Chest Burster, this time a Mach II. My most powerful punch, perfected long ago. At a speed of 120 kilometers, this would hit him like a freight train.

I promised to never use it because the impact would shatter every bone in my hand, permanently crippling me. But if killing Shinji with it meant I saved my friends, what did my career mean to me?

Before my attack connected, he dodged it as if it was nothing. What!?

With a single blow, he struck my stomach. I coughed up blood and fell to my knees, crouching in sheer pain. He'd turned the fight around with a single punch but... how?

Juzo spat on me before morphing back into Shinji, who greeted me with a smile, "Have fun dueling your better? I could have killed you sooner, but what would be the fun in that?"

God damn it, I won't be beaten. I jumped up to my feet and prepared another Chest Burster Mach II. As I powered up my attack, I heard the sound of someone walking in. And in that moment, I felt the poison hitting me.

"Akihiko!" Koneko and Shinju had entered the room, likely drawn by the fighting. Dammit...!

I was fucked now. With that being said, I lunged forward. I'd kill him with this and end it all.

He moved his hand to match mine, and my fist crashed into it. Blood and bone shattered on impact, his and mine. Unfortunately for me, he didn't just block.

The last thing I felt before the poison hit my heart and ended my short life was the feeling of my ribs crushing under the weight of Shinji's blow.

 **-Koneko's POV-**

I awoke in the hallway next to Shinju, both of us propped up against a wall in the middle of the hallway. I helped her up to her feet, "Let's go back, now. Okay?"

Shinju shook her head, "I don't know if I should... I've done something too unforgivable this time... Betraying my first love like that..."

That was when loud sounds of crashing took our attention. I could see down the hallway, but it was blurry from that far. I could smell Shinji, though. And Akihiko... and blood.

"Shinju, come on!" I grabbed her hand and we ran down to the room the noise was coming from. Jumping over the destroyed door, we saw Akihiko badly beaten and bleeding. He was attacking Shinji, also covered in wounds from their fight.

"Akihiko!" I shouted, trying to get him to ease up. But we were too late for Akihiko to stop his attack, which shattered Shinji's left hand. Blood splattered all over the floor from the wound before Shinji struck Akihiko with his free hand directly into the ribs.

Akihiko collapsed to the floor and stopped breathing. I ran to his side, but Shinji stopped me, "He made a deal with Kuma, you see. The second you walked in... His poison was released."

Shinju couldn't believe it, "He's dead because we..."

"No worries," Shinji oddly reassured me, "If you hadn't come inside, he'd have died by my hand instead. Considering he came here to kill me..." He threw a document at me. Shinju caught it and began reading it.

"Junko... used you?" Shinju sounded heartbroken.

Shinji shrugged, "Oh... By the way... Koneko, your forbidden action is to get physically assaulted by another person. Can't kill Kenta, Satoshi, or the traitor unless they hit you back. Be a shame if I hit you."

I stepped back. How did he...?

Shinji added, "And Shinju... Really, hm? Killing the traitor. How unfortunate..."

Shinji moved towards me so fast I could barely manage to dodge. He slammed his fist into the ground where I once stood, grinning, "Hey, nice moves. You beat me once, but now..."

Our bracelets beeped, and one by one we all passed out. Four of us had died, and we would soon find ourselves in the fifth area. Shinji had fallen into despair... Could we save him before it was too late?


	35. Chapter Five-Of Cats and Traitors 1

**Chapter Five-Of Cats and Traitors**

 **Alternatively known as; Ten Hours, Ten Persons, Ten Actions...**

 **Survival Life**

 ***friendly reminder that Tojiko is Fuuko's real name***

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Waking up with a splitting headache seemed to be a running theme for me at this point. I stumbled a bit before realizing I couldn't move my left hand. I looked over, and found it shattered. Blood had dried and part of my bone was showing.

Worst of all, one of my fingers had been bent out of place. I grabbed it and twisted it back into place, nearly biting my tongue from trying not to scream in agony. What the hell happened there, huh?

Looking around the room, I did a quick head count. Kenta was in the left corner, still pissed off. Satoshi was next to him, moving a sewing needle in air as if trying to practice it. Creep...

Misery was in the other corner, eye closed and just listening to us. She had no noticeable expression. Panterbell was on the glass table in the center of this room, wagging his tail in anger, specifically directed at Kenta. Good kitten...

Shinju and Koneko were both glaring at me, and even Granberia and Daisuke, the duo resting against the wall behind them had feelings of hostility directed at me. Fuuko, on the other hand, was still asleep.

By the process of elimination, I realized, "Akihiko's...dead?" My mind flashed back to that present box I had opened. Nari's ring... I felt it on one of my fingers. I checked, and there it was, on my index finger on my left hand. Rival Romantic. Had someone else placed it there for me...?

"You already knew that, bastard..." Daisuke spoke to me, the first who bothered to.

"No, I... I wouldn't," I replied honestly, "I... I just remember finding Nari's..." I couldn't even bring myself to finish that sentence, "And then...I just remember blacking out."

Shinju argued with me, "Not believing that. You tried to get Koneko's action to set off!"

Was I hearing this right? I took a single step forward, but when Shinju backed up and Koneko's claws unsheathed, I felt their animosity overwhelming my senses, "...I... What did Monokuma do to you guys!?"

Fuuko awoke, trying to force herself awake by smacking her cheeks, "Ugh... I have serious problems with this... I just want to sleep in."

Monokuma took that as a cue to appear on the monitor screen in the room, greeting us with his cheery disposition, "Hey, guys! How does it feel having made it to round two!? Nico, Hajime, Nari, and Akihiko have died, but you ten have survived! This time, I've unlocked both the 5th area and the first three again! You can go wherever you want, though any valid clues will only be in the new area, of course."

Kenta cursed Monokuma out, "You and your damned games... I presume the traitor wasn't Akihiko, then? How unfortunate... If the pattern continues, a non-student has to die next."

I stepped in between him and Fuuko, "Don't even think about that, bastard."

He then glanced over at Misery, who was already grinning at him with a blade in her right hand, "My forbidden action isn't defending myself, just so you know. I might not be able to kill, but I can make you wish I had..."

Kenta adjusted his collar nervously before leaning back against the door, "I'll let the traitor handle this one, then."

Monokuma ended his announcement with one last helpful bit of advice, "So... Try not to die! Okay, guys!? Or if you do... Do it with gusto! The audience loves a great death!"

The monitor blinked out, and Satoshi, already at the doorway, waved us off, "Bye, guys. I have some work left to do. Kibou and I will be back to help you guys out. Okay?"

Seeing no one else was going to do anything in this awkward atmosphere, I asked, "Anyone want to tell me what happened to make me the bad guy here or...?"

"Acting like you don't know is insulting to Akihiko," Granberia said it with such harshness, "Ultimate Despair... I can't believe it was you."

"Me? What...?" Seriously, what were they on about? Did I do something...? "I didn't... Whatever."

Kenta walked to the table while we were busy arguing. I wasn't focused on that, of course.

Shinju confronted me, "You bastard... You nearly got Koneko killed with your little tantrum!" Without hesitation, she slapped me harder than I ever had been before. I could taste blood, and I stumbled away from her.

Granberia walked up next to Shinju, "You should leave." She was talking to me, too, "We're safer without you around."

Before I could ask as to why, Koneko let out one of the most vicious threats I'd ever heard, "One more step, Kenta, and I'll rip your guts out!"

Kenta stopped just in front of the doorway. In his hands was a certain kitten, whom he had restrained with both hands, "Whatever are you on about, dear sister?" He turned to face her, "I just decided to take the kitten for a stroll. Since you all have neglected him thus far."

Koneko stepped towards him, claws fully unleashed, "You put him down right now, god dammit! If he leaves this room, he dies, you fucking asshole!"

"Would it make you mad if I just did this...?" He stepped backwards, standing on the line between the door and the hallway. Holding Panterbell out, all he had to do was take one more step back and...

"You won't escape me..." Koneko's eyes shined a deep red, "You know that. You made me a hunter."

Kenta finally relented, "Fine. You are right, of course. I made you the perfect killing machine." he stepped inside and placed Panterbell on the floor, releasing him.

And Panterbell, being his adorable self, prepped and ready to run, began bounding towards his favorite human. Koneko awaited him, her arms outstretched.

Thhk!

Behind us, the monitor lit up and registered one Ultimate Kitten as deceased. And as Kenta lifted his foot off of the crumpled remains of our beloved pet, I knew Koneko was lost to reason.

Koneko was already mid lunge when I jumped in between her, "If he hits you, you'll-" Before I could finish that sentence, blood exploded from my back and sides as Koneko tried to tear through me to get to him.

How did I know her forbidden action, though? She never told me...

"Let me shred him!" Koneko screamed, her animalistic rage unwilling to let him go. Kenta smirked at her, satisfied that the "pattern" had been satiated, and quickly charged down the hallways, as if any distance could ever make him safe after what he had just done.

Misery walked up behind Koneko and pulled her off of me with ease. Her claws, hooked into me by that point, came out painfully. As I slumped to the floor with bleeding limbs, Misery assured her, "You can't fight him. You'll die."

"But he-" Koneko was teary-eyed now, an odd contrast to her blood-covered hands.

Misery pulled out a small knife and assuaged her worries, "Despair, remember? I have no forbidden actions. I'll take care of him."

Misery walked out and casually walked in whatever direction Kenta had gone off in.

Daisuke was seated on the floor, coddling Panterbell's body, "Why... Why did he fuckin' go that far, man!?"

Granberia theorized, "Traitor. Killing Panterbell definitely filled us with despair. I'd say he's too obvious a choice, but perhaps that is what Monokuma is betting on."

Shinju agreed with that sentiment, "Especially considering the actions we've had and the targets. Taking Nico out first. Hajime fought him already, and Nari was one of the few members of our group without an action that prevented violence. Add in Akihiko's getting set up by Monokuma, and it all makes sense."

Right... I lifted up my crushed left hand and pressed the button on my bracelet.

"Dumbass... You're Despair," Daisuke muttered, glaring at me, "We saw what happened with Akihiko. You don't have an action."

I lifted up my shattered arm so he could read what was firmly flashing on my bracelet; Forbidden Action: Perpetrate violence against Nari's killer.

"You were saying...?" With that, I methodically moved my body to a standing position and headed towards the door, bleeding profusely, "I guess... this is goodbye."

 **-Fuuko's POV-**

Shinji exited into the hallway with great difficulty, his body clearly pushed to its limits. What was wrong with the others?

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" I was weary of their attitudes already, "Is no one going to help him?"

"He knows our forbidden actions," Daisuke warned, "Any one of us is susceptible if he surprises us."

I couldn't believe them, "Wow... Monokuma changes the game once and you people distrust him that readily?"

Granberia sighed before addressing her complaint, "It's not that I don't trust him. I do. However, if he's fallen into despair, that wouldn't be him... There would be nothing left of the person we loved."

"Well, I don't see any despair."

Shinju tried to calm her sister down, "Tojiko, please stop with this. It's... You're being unreasonable. He's just faking that he's normal. It's a trap-"

A familiar sound echoed through the room once more. I slapped Shinju so hard that my hand stung, but damn it felt good to be a gangster! "How selfish can you be?" Shinju looked at me in shock, her lip bleeding, "No, don't answer that. I know you well enough to know you'd just disappoint me again. I'll help him myself."

"Why?" Granberia queried, "You're the one who put him through six months of hell."

"And I'm willing to admit to my mistakes!" I glared at Shinju one last time before leaving the room, "Unlike some people."

Leaving those hypocrites behind, I rushed down the hallway, following the blood trail. Shinji had been headed to the nurse's room by himself, but he had collapsed quite a bit of ways before that. Grabbing him by the waist, I slowly dragged him towards the nurse's room. He was unconscious already, but I had to try.

 **-Granberia's POV-**

"Understandable reaction," I commented after Fuuko left us, "The rest of us would do well to stick together in this time of crisis."

Daisuke set Panterbell's body down and stood up, "Yeah, the fifth area should have clues. Anything... Maybe we can break into the sixth area early."

That was when I felt a concern grow from inside myself. "Koneko, with me. We'll investigate the fifth area together. Daisuke, you and Shinju stick together, too. Always stay together."

Shinju wiped her lip clean and agreed, "Yeah... You, too."

Taking point, Koneko and I speedily charged towards the fifth area. The gate had been left open, probably by Kenta of all people. Throwing it open, I revealed my suspicions, "We have to go to the sixth area gate. Monokuma's never specified anything about it, and I have to know."

Koneko nonchalantly followed me, not saying a word like her normal talkative self. When we finally reached the bottom of the sixth stairway I asked, "Koneko... I'm here in case you need to cry."

Koneko, without a shred of hesitation or dignity launched herself into me, crying and screaming. In the midst of her breakdown, I heard her lament not being able to save Nari or Panterbell, amongst other distorted messages in between the gasps for air and the intense sobbing.

The entire time, I stroked her head and listened to her lamentations. What else could I do for her? I glared at my bracelet and the forbidden action it contained. Forbidden Action: Interfere in any physical conflicts or murders.

Monokuma had something in mind where I'd be likely to intervene, huh? I was terrified what situation that might be. However, that would wait. Koneko needed me.

Thankfully, she didn't know of Nari's condition when she was killed. If she had, it might crush her poor little heart even more than it already had.

What was I to do about Shinji, though? We still loved him, but to say he was stable enough to trust was a stretch. Fuu...Tojiko would do her best to take care of him, I guess. He can't harm her; otherwise, if this is a trap, it'd be foiled. No, if Tojiko dies, it would be at the traitor's hands.

The traitor, still an enigma to all of us except themselves. Kenta and Satoshi were the two hated ones amongst us; it would have been nice if one of them were it. If they didn't end up dead after the next death, I silently resolved to kill them both myself. My action wouldn't stop me from my own murders, and Kenji would have wanted me to avenge him, if it had to be one of us.

Still, something was off. Shinji's forbidden action identified him as a regular player, not the member of Despair we were looking for. Not only that, according to our handbooks, one last Hope Fragment and Despair Fragment had yet to be collected.

There were many hope fragments to have been forged in that first month. All of that time, playing, laughing, enjoying life, only for it to be soured with this entire experience. If Hajime's assertions were true, that time machine might be our only hope.

There were no guarantees it would work, but if anyone could pull it off, us Ultimates could. Unfortunately for me, that meant keeping Kenta alive. He could fix it.

Koneko's sniffling finally stopped, and she lifted her head up and wiped her face clear of the tears, "Let's go now... I feel better."

I patted her gently on the head, "I love you, you know that, right? Baka kitten."

"Awe, Granberry..." she embraced me, "I love you too, Miss Kuudere."

Blushing slightly, I pried her off of me after letting her get a few seconds of hug time in, "We have a stairway to climb. To heaven!"

We continued making our way up the stairs without any distraction. At the top of the steps, I realized there was no gate this time. The last area was barred by a simple wooden gate that we could both easily scale.

Koneko rushed forward and tore it down in a single swipe, "Enough civilities. If anything gets in our way now, it's done for."

"Is that so? Upupupupu!" Monokuma greeted us on the other side, a devilish smirk on his face, "You know the consequences of destroying property, Miss Sakai."

"If you think you can take me..." her claws shot out, "Just try me."

Pulling the swiss army knife from my back pocket, I asked, "Koneko, look for the machine. I'll handle Monokuma myself!"

"But he's incredibly powerful, Granberia! You can't take him alone!" She argued with me, "Let's fight together!"

"And let Kenta use the time machine? No. You have to stop him. As his sister, it's your right," I rebuked her, "Now go!"

Koneko looked back at Monokuma and back to me, but finally decided to heed my advice, running off towards the machine.

Monokuma took a step forward, "Is this how you wish to die? You know I'm stronger than you," he was mocking me, "Poor Natsume. Unwanted in life... Unwanted in death, too."

I just smiled back at him, blade raised, "You're wrong, Monokuma. I've never felt more loved..." I was crying? How odd, this wasn't... This wasn't like me. Wiping my eye clean, I took a predatory stance, "Your participation in this game is no longer necessary, toy."

"Upupupupu! Me, not necessary? But I signed you on, remember!?" He smirked at me, "What would the others think of you if they knew _you_ were the traitor?! The one who killed Hajime and Nari was you!"

"As ordered by you... I'll never be forgiven for my crimes. But if I win this game, then I can use that machine and right this madness..." I had to hold onto that dream. It was the only thing keeping me going after all that I had done, the crimes I'd perpetrated.

Monokuma smirked, "So you admit to it, then?"

He was annoying me now, "Yes, Monokuma. I do. And you know damn well you never even gave me a choice!"

 **The memory still haunted me...**

The others were all locked up in some board room, and I had been brought to the room for simulations. Monokuma was near the main computer, detailing what had occurred, "And that's how Fuuko tortured Shinji, even after all he'd been forced to go through."

"But why did you bring me here? And tell me his role in the fall of the world?" I demanded to know. He brought me here, and just began spouting the truth behind Shinji's comatose state, and how Junko used the comm system here to spread despair globally after the first killing game and mass suicide.

"I need a traitor, you see. Someone to cull the weaker members of this group," Monokuma chortled with sadistic glee, "I chose you, since you have no choice."

Reaching for and taking out my swiss army knife, I disagreed, "I could probably beat you myself."

Monokuma smirked, "And then what? Without me, there's no getting to the fifth or sixth areas. If I were to say... activate the shutdown sequence, I could wipe this resort off of the side of the island... Understand?"

"Then what do you want from me!? You've taken everything I have!"

"Not everything... You see, for the Real Despair to reawaken... They must know true betrayal, the only thing that could finally free them from the inner depths of the unconscious. You will be that arbiter of betrayal... Understand?" Monokuma laughed maniacally, ignoring my pained expression.

I couldn't grasp what he wanted, his motives, "And if I refuse, you'll just kill us all?" he nodded. I...couldn't believe the words leaving my own mouth, "What happens if I cooperate?"

Monokuma pointed at the computer screen, which showed the fourteen 'participants', "Five of you will live, you included. If you win... Despair will reawaken, but then you can deal with them and leave this island in peace."

"I want that time machine," I demanded, "Anything less, I'll let us die. If you're going to force me to inflict such despair on them... You can't expect me to ask for less."

"Planning to stop Junko before her rise, eh? Well, I suppose I can arrange that. Although it might cost you more than just your eternal damnation," Monokuma smiled at me even wider, his paw extended, "Is that a deal then?"

Without any hesitation, I shook his paw, "Yes, Satan."

And now here I was... My soul tainted, my hands covered in the blood of Nari and Hajime, having killed them both myself. I could never forgive myself, and even now I just wanted the blissful release that was death.

But I knew better. Without that machine, our sacrifices would be for naught. All of our lives would have been thrown away had I refused. Even if I died, even if I failed, if I could keep at least one person alive, I'd dive into the depths of hell.

"We have access now, bear. Even if you set off the resort's shutdown warning now... I can beat you!" I firmly placed my hope in that. The others, each of their sacrificed lives... Called out to me, asked me to end this game in their stead.

Monokuma shook his head, "Silly girl. And if you kill me, what will happen to your precious friends? You didn't think you're the only traitor at my disposal, did you?"

For the shortest time, I couldn't even process that. Without showing my shock, I reprimanded him, "Lying to stop me won't work. I'll handle what may come when I'm rid of you."

"Fine... It'd be real unfortunate for Shinji, though."

"For what?"

Monokuma chuckled, "To know you killed Nari. And his child. That even if you lived, he could never _bear_ to love you again. And then you'd end up alone, just like your mother said!"

I lowered my knife, "You... You made me... To blackmail me...?"

"Well, duh! So go ahead, kill me. The loudspeakers will handle the rest!" He was standing there, smiling, knowing he'd pushed me into a corner. The question on his mind must have been whether I'd risk his threat.

I lowered my body to the ground before leaping at him with full force, my knife drawn, "Die!"

Monokuma blocked my attack with his claws and forced me back with a powerful shove. His eye glowed even more as he moved to meet me in the battle, our attacks blazing through the air.

A cut here, a scratch there, but I couldn't give in. I couldn't hold myself from this fight; it was my final chance at redemption.

 **-Koneko's POV-**

The first building I burst into had a bunch of empty machines hooked up to some umbrella-like device with huge computers set up. They seemed like pods for people to sleep in. This must be the simulation chamber, right?

This wasn't what I wanted, but I approached the main computer and pressed the start button. It flashed on and revealed that it was the Neo World Program 2.1, the Despair Program. It was designed to determine the limits of humanity's willpower when overcome with despair, and what effects it had physically and mentally.

It had a lot of complicated algorithms and stuff that was beyond me, but I garnered the gist of its results. Despair, like Hope, increased the power of an individual. Junko was able to bolster her allies with Despair, as if a power to increase their own abilities. Mukuro, her Despairs, even Shinji's ability was warped through this power.

Of course, the intended effects of this program weren't so simple; they wished to compare the power of Despair to Hope and determine the better 'state' of humanity. The project was approved of by one Yasuke Matsuda... The Ultimate Neurologist.

I didn't get it. Hope, Despair, what did either matter? People just used them as excuses to hurt others for their own selfish wants. Junko, Yasuke, Hope's Peak, Kenta... No one cared about the ideals of either.

I had once placed faith in hope, but all it did was hold me back. Every time I hoped my friends would rise above murder, we fell back into a cycle of destruction and death. Emiko, Yoshikazu, Takeshi, Mayumi, Takumi, Shizue, Kibou, Hanako, Kenji... All had been taken in that killing game, and now innocents were suffering. People unrelated to the game, to Despair.

Hope lead us on and tore us down at every point. The future... Who cares about that? Nari was dead, Panterbell was dead, Shizue was dead...

Hope was why I felt scared. Hope for surviving is what held me back from fighting. From doing what needed to be done. And if hope was going to hold me back... I had to do the opposite.

I would embrace Despair.

Feeling the release in my body, I smelled the air, with deep, concentrated breaths. Ah, Kenta. There you are, my dear brother.

I clawed through the giant computer, sending pieces of electronics everywhere. As each pod began exploding and leveling the entire area, I laughed to myself. If Kenta's hope was that time machine, I'd see him despair...

On all fours, I charged in that animalistic rage boiling inside of me. He would not be spared my wrath this time.

The second area I came to was a small comm station. Without hesitation, I sliced through the array and crushed the solar panels beneath my feet. Ripping out the cords from the consoles, I left it in tattered shreds.

Finally, the last building. I cut my way through the glass ceiling of the dome-like building. Inside was one machine and Kenta, trying to access it.

He turned to face me as the glass rained down on him, "Ah, if it isn't my sister, Koneko."

I growled at him, "Kenta. It's time we ended this charade," I lifted myself up to my feet, "It's time you die."

"Ah, but sister... If you attack me, all I must manage to do is strike you. And I win."

"Do I care!?" I hissed at him, "Everything was lost to me, everything! Nari, Panterbell! All you ever did was take from me, Kenta! But no more!"

Kenta laughed at me in that familiar mocking tone he carried with everyone, that smug bastard, "Me? The traitor isn't me, my dear. Now, please... Calm down. I'll make you a deal. You leave and guard me from the others, and I'll let you be with those whores of yours when I remake the future."

"Whores...?" I growled even more ferociously at him, "You dare mock Nari and Shizue in death!?"

"Well, that tutor girl certainly was one," Kenta smiled as he revealed one last fact, "She died pregnant, don't you know?"

What...? "You're lying!"

Kenta shook his head, "Afraid not, my sister. Yoshikazu and Shizue died to save her in that condition. She was with Shinji's child. And the traitor, knowing that fact, killed her. How cold..."

Bastard. Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard... "Fuck you!" I pounced, leaping at him at full speed. He moved his hands to protect himself, but he missed my target completely.

The machine he was so dead set on protecting was like butter compared to my claws, made of a lightweight mixture of military-grade diamond and steel. Pieces of broken, shattered pieces flew around me as the entire machine erupted into broken parts and gears.

The look on Kenta's face, as his last resort was seized from him, was pure, utter despair. He dropped to his knees, unable to utter a single word. His tears erupted, and he held out a locket he had during his youth, too, "Mother... I tried to... I tried to save you!"

He turned to me and slowly got to his feet, barely able to speak, "You... Born... When just a child... And I remade you as you wanted... You took her from me... I just wanted... I just wanted her back!"

A knife pierced through his throat before he could say more, and he fell to his knees grasping at the hole made in his neck. His eyes glossed over and he fell forward. To ensure he was dead, his attacker crushed his head with her heels, not giving any mercy to the fallen Ultimate.

"Misery...?"

Misery addressed me as she wiped the blood off of her blade and fixed it into her holster for it, "Koneko. You have done enough. Destroying that time machine was quite naughty of you. Now I have to fix it myself..."

I lowered my ears, "Fix it, why?"

Misery walked to the machine and began assembling the parts in a line, "Kenta wanted to use this machine for his own ends. To rewrite the timeline and install himself as a god-king."

"Then it's good I broke it, right?" I still didn't get it.

"How would you propose we undo the damage this game has caused? How much damage Despair has caused?" Misery glared at me, "Would you doom the world to its own fate for your own petty revenge!?"

I couldn't believe she had just said that, "Petty!? He deserved all that I gave him and more!"

Misery walked over to me and placed her hand on my head, "I know, dear Koneko... I know he did. Kenta was a cruel monster of a man..."

"Then... why did you...?"

She walked away from me, still organizing the pieces, "The traitor is still amongst us, and... You need to... To..." she collapsed to her knees, and I finally realized what was happening. She was bleeding heavily from her one exposed eye, "My action... I didn't have one before, but it... Kill the DNA manipulator..."

I was by her side in an instant and clicked her wrist bracelet. Indeed, it said that her action was to refrain from killing Kenta. Or Satoshi, for that matter.

"Then why...?" Misery smiled up at me, "Why did you do it then!?"

She clicked mine, and on it read the same thing, "Monokuma never promised they'd...stay the same."

Misery collapsed onto the ground, bleeding from both of her eye sockets now. She stopped breathing, and though I prodded her to get up, it was already far too late for her.

Wham! I felt an attack hit my backside, and flew over the time machine before crashing into the tiles of the sixth area's ground. Painfully sliding through them, I faced my attacker.

Monokuma was there, one paw extended, "How surprising... To think the traitor went this far. Only for you to break the machine..." Monokuma sighed, glancing at the two deceased participants, "How unfortunate. I'll take care of their bodies and set about repairing the machine. As for you, Koneko, you'd best get your friend to the nurse's office. Before she bleeds out..."

What? I knew instantly what he meant, and began charging at full speed, reaching the entrance in record time. Granberia was lying on the ground, slashed heavily in her side, blood flowing freely. Applying pressure to her side, I picked her up onto my shoulder and dashed to the nurse's room in desperation.

 **Meanwhile...**

Monokuma brought the shattered pieces of the time machine into another room, one located near the peak of the mountain. Inside, Misery greeted him, "I'll begin repairing it immediately."

"Sure thing, kiddo, though I don't see the point now. I did say I'd be helping out the last member of Despair though, and for now that's you!" Monokuma scratched his bear ears.

Misery nodded, "And with my death faked, they can turn their attention to the traitor, and the climax of this game."

Monokuma asked, a curious expression on his face, "What do you hope to get out of this, though? You said yourself they all mean the world to you. You even know one of the survivors right now quite... intimately."

"I am aware, Monokuma. This must be done for the sake of the world, you know?" Misery said it, but with each passing incident, with each death, she felt the truth in those words was fading away with time, "Kenta deserved his fate. Now the traitor has to do their job and end what they started... Three more must die."

 **-Shinju's POV-**

The fifth area was a barren wasteland, nothing of note or importance. Daisuke and I had scoured the entire area, and all we had found were some bathrooms, an extra bathhouse, a fountain at the center filled with change that Daisuke stole, and a picnic area overlooking the forest below.

The two of us had gotten food from a nearby kitchen and were eating sandwiches he had made at the picnic table, neither of us willing to make conversation. My lip stung, but my sister's words stung more.

All I'd ever do was disappoint her, huh? Maybe she was right... I probably didn't deserve to live. If only the traitor would kill me next, I'd have been some use to my friends. Shinji...

How could I do what I did and justify it to myself? Putting his other loves in danger, berating and abusing him... Even though I had reformed myself and moved past that, I still never found the strength to confess the truth of our relation by blood to him.

Because of my own fears of him leaving me, I betrayed him in the worst way possible. And then I turned on him the second I found his secret out; that he had once fallen into despair. Was I truly worth anything at all?

"Cheer up, kiddo," Daisuke patted me on the shoulder, tearing me from my own dark thoughts, "We didn't find anything useful, but that's just a start," he glanced down at his bracelet, "And we still have a full hour."

I couldn't believe him, "How can you even handle this situation right now? Kaz is dead, your sister is dead, one of us is going to die soon, and Panterbell... How can you keep going despite that!?"

Daisuke answered me without doubt, "I'm alive. Giving up won't keep me or my friends safe, will it? How could I abandon you guys when you stuck by me all this time? Even when I was being irrational... I mean, in hindsight... Nari died pregnant, you know."

"What!?" I... What had he just said!?

"Granberia mentioned it to me while you were off gallivanting. In confidence. And I'd almost assaulted her during that last trial we did..." his lip curled into a frown, "I almost did something unforgivable... But she forgave me. When that trial was over, and we read Shizue's letter..." he took a large bite out of his sandwich, "She was the one who apologized to me. After everything I've said to her, done to her, tried to do... She forgave me, Shinju."

I suspected that they had talked, but for Nari to be the one saying sorry? "Heh, guess I didn't know her as well as I'd have liked. She was tough to like, but... Fuck, Daisuke. I... I just want her back!"

I cried into his shoulder, and he held me there, "Yeah, I do... I do, too."

Koneko rushed by us with Granberia on her back, rushing by at such insane speed that wind blasted the two of us and knocked my sandwich off of the plate onto the ground. Sandwich, no... She was innocent!

"What happened with them?" Daisuke asked, already getting up to give chase.

Running, I shouted back to him, "I'll beat you there, pretty boy!"

Daisuke accepted my challenge, "I won't hold back because you're family!" And like that, we both raced after the duo into the fourth area.

In the freezer room, Satoshi finished his latest work on Kibou; she finally had a torso again! All he needed were legs, and she'd be complete. Satoshi joked to himself, "Hehe. Kibou... You got implants now, ahahaha! But no worries..." he gently kissed her on her cheek, "You'll always be beautiful to me..."

He lowered his hand down to Kibou's new torso, which had extra stitching on her stomach, "Didn't expect to have to do surgery like that, though. To think someone would soil your new body before you even got to have it... How dare they..." He reached for a scalpel and enjoyed his reflection in the shiny metal, his crazed eyes and wide grin, "I will judge them soon, my love..."

 **-Shinji's POV-**

I smelled the scent of hydrogen peroxide and opened my eyes. There was ceiling above me, different from what I remembered. White and tiled like inside the nurse's office. As I tried to move the fingers of my left hand, I felt the bandaging. The gauze was thankfully not too tight.

Speaking of gauze, my body felt like it was in a full body cast with how much of my abdomen was layered with the damn stuff. Someone had bothered to patch me up, and Tojiko, who was sitting in a chair next to me, had fallen asleep. How kind of her... Despite everything we'd been through, of all people, she had stood up for me in this moment.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she stirred at the sound of my voice, "Would my guardian angel be that tired?"

She rubbed her eyes and lightly smacked her cheeks to get the blood flowing and to wake herself up, and she finally answered my teasing, "Oh, you're awake. I'm not good at bandaging people up, so I may have overdone it a little."

I chuckled, thankful it didn't hurt to do so, "Maybe, yeah. Why, though?"

"After all I've done to you..." she placed her hand on my face, near my right eye, "I think I owed you this much, y'know?"

I shifted my head as I adjusted my body so I could sit up straight, "You don't owe me anything, Tojiko. I protected you because it's the right thing to do."

She averted her gaze, though I could tell she was pleased by that comment, "D-don't say weird stuff like that! You're not some superhero."

"Neither are you, but you risked your own life to help me out. You know I fell into Despair like the others, right?" she nodded, "When I was asleep, it came back to me. When I found Nari's ring, it finally cracked me. I've sacrificed so much, and..."

She held my hand in hers, "Well, you won't have to worry for a little while. We have forty-five minutes left before the first attack, and... Well, I can't guarantee that we'll survive but I know that if anyone can, it's you."

"I'll do my damndest to save us both. And your sister, and Granberia, and Koneko, and Daisuke," I assured her.

"Only five of us will survive, though," she rebuttaled, "That's six of us. You know at least one of us is going to..."

I shook my head, "I have a backup plan for when we're the final six. I just hope Kenta or Satoshi is next..."

Tojiko moved to sit on the bed next to me, "You know, Shinji... The reason I was so... cruel to you was because of Shinju. I mean it's not her fault, not like that... When we were younger, big sis Shinju was so cool. She protected me from mean boys and animals, the boogeymen in my closet. She did everything she could to make me feel loved and safe."

Jokingly, I agreed, "She shows her family real love, if you know what I mean..."

Blushing, she tried to ignore my comment, "Well, when she met you, she changed. Started talking about you all the time, obsessing over you. Other than me, you were the first person to really care about her."

"I didn't have any other friends," I admitted, "Parents thought it was a waste of time. My mother always complained, said she wanted a girl. Guess she blamed me for Grandpa giving her daughter away."

"She was head over heels for you, and she started ignoring me," Tojiko smiled, "I was a child at the time, and I guess I didn't grow up as fast as my body did. I was jealous of you. You'd taken my sister from me; and then you rejected her, too."

I didn't remember that too well, or too fondly, "She could do better, I thought. I didn't know I was her only friend, honestly. Thought she was only my friend out of pity. So when she said she liked me... I was scared. Scared to admit I liked her, too. Wasn't a smart preteen."

Tojiko glared at me before breaking out into another smile, "Yeah, not a smart teen or adult either."

"I can't say I disagree with that," I had to admit it. I had done quite the stupid shit while I'd been here, "I do repay my friends, though. So, Tojiko, is there anything you want from me? You did save my life, after a-"

She silenced me with a kiss, the last thing I was expecting. She had her eyes closed, and was fully into it. She finally pulled away from me, "That uh... Well, I see the appeal in you."

My eyes widened, and I avoided eye contact, "Oh, well. I sure don't." she pulled me over to her and kissed me again.

You know, on a list of things that aren't okay, making out with your girlfriend's sister is probably on that list. I returned her kiss because that same list had sleep with your brother way higher up on it, though. Not that this was to spite her... I did find myself grow quite attached to Tojiko through our time together... Was this how the simulations went?

"Manwhore," We broke the kiss off as Koneko had opened the door with Granberia in her arms. Granberry was bleeding, but she ignored that to insult me.

Koneko hurriedly placed Granberia on the bed next to mine and grabbed gauze to set about cleaning her wounds.

"The hell happened to you guys?"

Granberia answered me, losing that rough edge she'd given me earlier, "I tried to fight Monokuma. It didn't go well."

Koneko added more to the story, "Kenta was killed by Misery, and then she died... Her forbidden action had changed. Hers prevents her from killing Kenta or Satoshi. And you all know mine, so..."

"And mine changed to avenging Nari..." I clicked it again, "Not that I would. I have too much to live for."

Tojiko activated her own, and for the first time admitted her own, "Mine is not to protect myself from attackers. They want me to be a passive victim."

Granberia warned us, "Mine is to not interfere in murders or assaults. If you get attacked, I can't interfere in any way."

"Isn't that just handy?" The door opened, and Satoshi stepped inside, a scalpel in his hand, "That's good news for me..."

Even in my injured state, I entrenched myself between him and the others, "Go ahead, try something. I'll punish you severely."

Satoshi just rolled his eyes, "Really? When I brought something for you, fresh from Monokuma?"

One of the others made a loud gulping noise, but that was the least of my worries. I asked him outright, "What is it?"

Behind him, Shinju and Daisuke stepped inside, "Oh, good, the gang's all here." Satoshi walked past me and turned on the television monitor in our room. He took the VCR he had and placed it inside, and what played was... _Enlightening._

Granberia, Nari, and I had all passed out in that classroom. In the video, Granberia was the one of us to remain awake, and without hesitation she walked over to Nari and pulled her off of me before exiting the room. The video cut out there, but the message was clear.

"It's not doctored," Satoshi preceded to kill off other possibilities, "She killed her. Granberia was the one to deliver her parts to me. Dismembering her, though... How cruel for someone to do to their own lover."

Shinju, teeth clenched, stomped her way to Granberia before threatening, "Koneko, out of my way. I'll smack you so fast you'll never feel the god damned poison."

Koneko, not seeing an alternative, stepped away from Granberia's bedside, unable to defend her in this situation.

"What the fuck did you do!?" Shinju grabbed Granberia off of the bed and held her by her collar, "What the fuck did you do!?"

Granberia resisted her intimidation tactics, "Monokuma forced me to agree. He promised to let us use the time machine, so I could undo i-"

Daisuke intervened, punching Granberia as hard as he could manage, knocking her off of the bed onto the floor. Her cheek was bleeding now, and she couldn't even stand up in her condition.

"You're the fucking traitor! You worthless bitch!" I grabbed his arm before he could strike her again, "What are you... Shinji, really!? She killed your fucking kid for a fantasy machine!"

"And what about your forbidden action, dumbass?! You're lucky it didn't trigger!" I reproached him, "Seriously! Don't jump to conclusions!"

Koneko spoke up, "Actually... it does exist. But... I broke it to prevent Kenta from using it."

Granberia got to her feet, still struggling to stand, "You fucking idiot! That was our only hope!"

She walked over to Koneko and grabbed her, "You stupid... Why did you do that!? I said to stop Kenta, not break it!"

"I wanted to make him despair!" Koneko defended her own actions, though this had gone terribly awry, "And there was no guarantee that machine works!"

Granberia struggled with herself not to slap the sense out of Koneko, knowing how it would end for her, "I... You ruined all of my work..."

Monokuma's voice echoed out from the hallway, displaying on all of the monitors, "No worries, old chap! For the final four of you, I'm repairing the machine! So just enjoy the game at your own leisure!"

"What, final four!? But you said-"

Daisuke was cut off like usual, Monokuma trouncing over him again, "You heard me. Granberia, you know what to do."

Satoshi chuckled, "Sorry to do you like this, Granberia. But this game matters not to me. Kibou does. And this will help me, Monokuma said. Anyways, I have...to go."

He stepped out of the nurse's room, leaving the six of us to deal with the new situation we found ourselves in.

"Kill her," Daisuke demanded, "Before she does any damage!"

Shinju lunged towards Granberia, but she grabbed Koneko and hid behind her, "If you attack, she'll be poisoned!"

"Damn bitch..." Shinju uttered under her breath, "Someone, do something!"

Granberia maneuvered her way to the door, but before she made it, Tojiko stopped her with a plea, "Granberry, stop! Why!? Why would you betray us like this!?"

She didn't answer until she made it into the doorway, "I'm leaving with her. Any one of you follows me, I'll be forced to act."

"Not fucking likely," from my back pocket, I took a magnum out. The one that Kenta once had, "Hajime entrusted me with this. Before you killed him! Now let Koneko go! Please... Granberia, don't make me do this!"

Reluctantly, Granberia let Koneko go. She dropped to the floor and moved away, unable to breathe well after being held in a choke hold, "What are you going to do, Shinji? Shoot me in cold blood? Your own waifu? You'll die if you do."

I couldn't believe this, "You did kill Nari, then..." Holding the magnum out, I stepped towards her, "After all this. Granberia... You betrayed us? You betrayed me, and worst of all, you betrayed Nari..."

"I was trying to save you guys!" Granberia cried out, "If I had refused, Monokuma would have killed us all! He said that, and I was desperate! I'm always the one who has to make the tough decisions! Shinju hides from the truth, Daisuke punches everything, Tojiko takes it out on everyone else but her, Koneko's a selfish child, and you... You never make the hard calls, Shinji."

"Is that really true?" Aiming the magnum at her heart, I closed in on her, slowly but steadily, "Because right now, I might have to..."

Granberia accepted her fate, "Kill me. It won't change the nature of the game now. Only four of us will live," she dared me, "Go ahead, shoot me. Bring us down to six. Help Monokuma win. Help Despair revive!"

I lowered the gun, "...I..."

"Bluffing won't save you, bitch!" Daisuke walked in her direction, fists ready to scrap, "I won't let Shinji die just to kill scum like you."

Koneko grabbed his arm, "Daisuke, wait... We shouldn't go off the handle like this! She deserves to at least get a fair hearing from us!"

Daisuke shook his head, "Hell no! That's what she's counting on! Once a traitor, always a traitor! I swore to protect my friends, and she's our only threat now!"

"No..." I grabbed his shoulder, "We're not doing this. I don't want this... Even if she betrayed me, I can't...bring myself to..."

Daisuke pushed me out of his way, "Fine. I'll step up!"

Realizing what she had to do, Koneko jumped in between Granberia and the rest of us, "Run, Granberry! I'll follow when I can!"

Granberia hesitated for just a moment before breaking into a sprint in the opposite direction. Daisuke wanted to follow after her, but Koneko firmly stood in his way.

"We have to act rationally," she countered Daisuke's assertions, "Do you want to see more of us die so badly?"

I walked up to Koneko, slowly, "Hey, let me through," she pouted at me, "Look, I just want to hide the gun. She might take it if she's the traitor. It's for our safety."

"But Shinji-"

"What if she kills you or me with it?" I pleaded with her, "Monokuma would totally order that and you know it..."

Koneko glared up at me, but reluctantly moved to the side. I squeezed by her to go and hide the gun in an undisclosed location.

I returned as my bracelet marked the time as twenty minutes until one of us would die, and at Granberia's hands of all people.

Koneko was gone when I returned, to which Daisuke readily explained, "She left with that fuckin' traitor. I can't believe she'd turn on us like that."

I shook my head, "I don't have time for your petty disputes now! The real enemy here is Monokuma... That being said, we shouldn't let Granberia go unrestrained... But what can we do?"

Shinju cracked her knuckles, "My forbidden action is to not hurt Satoshi or the traitor," She showed us to prove herself, "See? If I so much as hurt them... It's over for me."

Daisuke spat to the floor, "That's just great, so's mine. Monokuma tied our fucking hands! If any of us kills that bitch or that crazed psychopath, we're basically fucked."

"One of us will die in only fifteen minutes," Tojiko reminded us, "Wouldn't it be better to die as friends than enemies?"

"Fuck no," he refused to give in to that, "This isn't some fantasy world where friendship is magic, god damn it!" Daisuke confirmed brony.

Tojiko frowned, looking away in shame, on the verge of tears, "I just don't want... More of this. Distrusting each other, hurting each other... killing each other... Why can't it just stop!?"

"That would be too easy," I answered her, a devastated look on my face, "Nothing in life is ever that easy."

Daisuke walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, "If one of us doesn't make it to next round... Promise me you'll kill her. Avenge us, Shinji. Out of all of us, you know it's your duty to right this wrong," he looked into my eyes, "She killed Nari, you know? Ended your family before it began..."

"I know, Daisuke," I pushed him away from me, trying not to cry. I failed spectacularly, "I know what she did! But what am I supposed to do!?"

Shinju tried to direct me, "You have to stand up to her for this."

I glared at her, "Oh, you mean face the truth? You'd know all about that, right?"

"That's not fair to m-"

"Isn't it? Whore," I sassily replied, "Or is this not a two way street, _sis_?" I moved back to one of the beds and sat down on it, "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. You wouldn't have enough time to pursue her, anyways. All we can do now is wait and see."

Daisuke scoffed, but after leaning against the door for a moment, he agreed, "Yeah, I guess so. Not happy about this bullshit, though."

Shinju laid down on the bed next to mine, "Might as well get comfortable, then. And Shinji..." I glanced over at her, "Yeah, I know... I messed up. I crossed a bunch of lines. But I really am sorry..."

"I know," I reached out and grabbed her hand with mine, "I just... I need to think about things, okay? About... us."

Granberia walked into the gymnasium where Akihiko once was. Realizing she was alone, she called out at the top of her voice, "Monokuma!"

Monokuma dropped in from straight out of nowhere, asking, "Yeeeees? Do you need something from me?"

"My action. And Koneko's. You have to drop them, now. Otherwise, they'll kill me before the game is through," Granberia demanded of him.

"Intend to stand and fight your ground, hm? That can and shall be arranged!"

He clapped, and Granberia's bracelet beeped. When she checked it, her face went a pale white, "You can't-"

Monokuma just flashed her a toothy smile before leaving the room as mysteriously as he appeared, leaving her in silence.

Koneko sprinted inside after her, "Granberia, wait for meeeee!"

Granberia seemed speechless that Koneko had followed her all this way, "What do you want...? Why did you follow me this far?"

Before Granberia could resist, Koneko wrapped her into a powerful hug, "Because... When you listened to me... You weren't faking it. And I can't fathom how much what you did had to hurt you, Granberia..." she pulled away and touched her nose to Granberia's, their foreheads against each other's, "But I'm still here for you, even if the others get caught up in their anger. I know you'd never do this for evil causes..."

Granberia couldn't hold back her tears any longer, "Why...? Why are you so understanding of me? He's going to make me... Kill again."

Koneko held Granberry's hands in hers, "Whatever happens, I wanted to be here for you. You've been alone long enough..."

"Koneko... I can't... You..." Granberia couldn't speak, so instead she hugged Koneko tightly, never wanting to let go. Her wall was gone, and her pain broke forth from the dam she placed in her heart. And Koneko returned her own kindness in spades, holding her close and assuring her she'd be just fine.

Tojiko cuddled up next to me, much to my surprise, "Uh, what? Since when did-"

She put a finger to my lips, "Don't question a good thing. I'm... scared, honestly. I'll be an easy target, because of my action... If I die, I want to feel safe before I go..."

I wrapped my arm around her and held her close, nodding to Shinju, who herself was wrapped up in a set of blankets. Daisuke had crashed into a chair and rested his head on his arms on the back end of it, like a misbehaving kid in detention might.

Brushing my hand through Tojiko's long blue hair, I closed my eyes. Once I was pushed over the edge of despair, I felt as if there was no returning. But here I was; somehow finding in myself the hope to survive.

The time on our bracelets ran out, and as we drifted off to sleep, I prayed that the four of us would awaken together and be safe. Would that I could only change the outcome myself...


	36. Chapter Five-Of Cats and Traitors 2

(Chap. 5 cont.)

 **WARNING: DARK CONTENT; BE WARNED #Satoshi**

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Satoshi was the first to awaken, and due to having finished his work early, he had made his way to the main room before falling asleep. When he awoke, he grinned maliciously as the monitor sprang to life but showed nothing.

"Monokuma, what is the meaning behind this!? Show me who died!"

Monokuma appeared on the monitor this time, "You know the rules, riiiight? They have to be found first."

Satoshi decided to dismiss his game and skipped the pleasantries, "You have already crippled the others yes? Shielded me from their murderous lust? If you tell me, I'll betray them for you, too."

"Is that so...? Granberia is of limited use to me now... If that witch hunt kills her off before the next time limit ends... Hrm. You have yourself a deal!"

Monokuma faded off of the screen, and what it showed next was Koneko, a smile on her face as her lifeless body was slumped against a wall, having been fatally stabbed by Granberia in the chest.

That was Granberia's forbidden action; to spare Koneko in her next murder. Though she was now free to defend herself, she had to sacrifice her only ally left. How cruel a fate.

Pitiable, she was. However, Satoshi didn't mind one bit. Granberia would serve him well as he crafted his own murder plot...

For he couldn't use animal goods.

I was startled awake by a hand on my head. I fell out of the bed and crashed onto the floor. Looking up, Satoshi smirked, "Howdy, sleepy head. Glad I could see you all again."

Daisuke cracked his neck and flipped the chair back before putting it back on the stack, "It's you, huh?" he noted Tojiko and Shinju were both safe as well, "...That bitch killed Koneko. The only person who could fucking trust her!"

Shinju sat up in her bed, and when she heard Daisuke's angry yell, she quickly gathered what had happened, "First Nari, now Koneko... How can she justify this...?"

Daisuke shook his head, "She can't. I know what we have to do. I'm going to find that bitch and kill her myself."

"Daisuke, I don't know if-" Daisuke refused to listen to reason, even from me.

"You're too invested in her to do the right thing!" he pushed me away from him when I tried to restrain him, "We promised not to kill..." he began crying, "We...promised. I'd rather have died than watch this happen..." he cursed to himself under his breath.

Shinju wasn't as vitriolic as before, "He's...right. What, we just lie down and let her kill us? That's fuckin' wrong...! Everyone died to get us this far, and... For her to just trample over their sacrifices..."

"She intends to undo them," Tojiko reminded her, "Hence the time machine thing."

Satoshi interjected, "Yeah, that'll work. It's not like it's a 99 percent chance of failing and also possibly bending the laws of physics. And if multiverse theory holds, well, you're fucked regardless. Everyone'll stay dead."

Why was he even here? "Satoshi... She's not the only murderer here."

"What, me? Oh, come now... I was just doing as Kiyo asked," he smirked, "Besides, Hanako was a walking target anyways. A waste of space, really. So boring, uninteresting. We get it dear, we've seen your... kind before. I made things...interesting."

I grabbed him and held him up against the wall, "Don't test me, Satoshi. I'll burn you at the stake. Send you straight to Kenji's realm!"

Satoshi shook his head, "Look, I came to make a deal with Daisuke. He intends to kill Granberia, and I want her body. I have to finish Kibou."

"What!? You sick-"

"If he kills Granberia, he dies. That's two. No one else will have to die. Unless you intend to let her murder more of you. Half of you, even," Unfortunately, he had a solid argument. Letting her kill literally half of the people in our group wasn't right.

I let Satoshi go, and he adjusted his collar, "Regardless, I've made my offer. I must attend to Kibou's needs." He left the four of us, alone and divided more than before.

Tojiko was firmly in her own camp, "I will not witch hunt Granberia down... Even if she kills me, it's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make."

Daisuke meanwhile, still argued the exact opposite, "Nope, killing her. I'll die, and you guys'll live."

"Daisuke, would you just stop!?" I yelled, "She's not our enemy... Monokuma is."

"What, are you going to fight him instead?" Shinju asked, fearful for my life.

I nodded, "If we fight Monokuma, no one else has to die. Come on, Daisuke, aren't you with me on that?"

Daisuke shook his head, "We would lose and die. You know that, bastard. You'd rather throw your own life away than punish Granberia for her crimes." He wasn't wrong. Even after what she did, how could I go so far as to... to hurt her? My lovely level-headed lovebird...

Shinju was in the middle ground, "We'll split up then, for safety reasons. I'll go with Daisuke. But if we can talk Granberia down, we will _not_ hurt her, understood? Do you hear me, Daisuke?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He didn't sound convincing, but Shinju just sighed in exasperation and ignored him.

Shinju addressed her sister next, "You go with Shinji. He's hurt, so if things go awry, try to save him. But if, if it looks too bad..."

Tojiko shook her head, "I'm not going to abandon him like you two did."

Oh damn, that must have stung, "I won't say what you two did didn't hurt me... But I'm not going to hold it against you. Just don't be reckless. Under any circumstances..." I felt Shizue's ring flow power into me, and I used it to channel another person and their talent.

Ultimate Martial Artist Sakura confirmed. She sacrificed herself for her friends, and at this rate I might have to do the same. "Tojiko, let's go."

Tojiko nodded, and we headed to the sixth area to deal with Monokuma directly.

Monokuma appeared in one of the many classrooms in the fourth area, where Granberia had barricaded the door leading to her. Of course, he found some alternate way to get in, because Junko's annoying pet wouldn't be stopped for nothing.

"Hey, Granberia! Feel good killing your only friend left!?" Granberia's angered glare seemed as if it could burn holes through Monokuma, as if that were possible, "Hey, I'm just doing my job spreading despair! You're the one who teamed up with me!"

Granberia struggled with herself not to attack him, knowing she'd lose. She managed to restrain herself, "Why are you here?"

Monokuma smirked, "I fear Shinji is going to try and fight me. I thought I'd make that clear to you with a little caveat. Daisuke and Shinju are coming for you. Your mission is to kill them both. If you don't, I'll execute Shinji, understood?"

"What!? But you-"

"He's set to beat me to save his friends. To save you," Granberia's eyes widened in shock. He was still willing to risk his life for... her? After all she had done to him? "And if you wish to do the same, you must kill your attackers, Understood?"

Granberia frowned, hating every second she continued to breathe, "...Ah... I understand." She ground her teeth in anger as Monokuma bid her adieu and left her alone.

What could she do now? Even in self-defense, could she find it in herself to kill more of her friends? How could she justify this anymore? Why did she ever give in to him...?

Daisuke and Shinju reached where they had last seen Koneko. They didn't exactly recognize the room she had been in, so they began searching the classrooms, one by one.

"Find anything yet?" Daisuke called out, growing weary.

Shinju opened the door to another room, and her heart dropped. Koneko was there, alright. She really had a smile on her face as blood dripped from the knife plunged into her chest. The swiss army knife Granberia always carried around with her had found its home in Koneko's heart.

Shinju kneeled down and pulled the knife out and wiped it off. She hid it in her back pocket, just in case, and brushed the bangs out of Koneko's face, "You didn't deserve this... Koneko..."

Shinju broke down into tears, and Daisuke, hearing her crying, entered the doorway, "God damn it...! I didn't want to believe it, but... God damn it! Why did it have to be her of all people!?" Daisuke punched the wall until his fist bled, and even then he didn't stop, "Why couldn't it have been me!?"

I reached into the medicine cabinet in the nurse's office and pulled out the magnum. Three shots left, I checked just to make sure. I placed it in my pocket next to my wallet and felt the knife in my other pocket, "Alright... I'm ready."

Tojiko was leaning against the door, "Are you certain about this? He's going to try and kill you, Shinji... I don't want to lose you this quickly."

I gave her a thumbs up, "Don't worry about me, Tojiko. I've got this on lock. If we don't win, my friends will dwindle even more...! I've had enough!"

"You really mean that, huh... That's admirable of you, if not stupid, too," Tojiko laughed to herself, amused by my confused expression, "I began to understand why Shinju liked you ever since we first met... Even with how I treated you, you've always been... so nice to me."

"I'm just being a decent human being," I replied wistfully, "It's nothing to be proud of..." Then I asked, "Why'd you call yourself Fuuko?" Her eyes opened wide, "I mean, if it's okay to say. I just never understood."

Tojiko shook her head, "I imagined I would be a superhero one day, and my name would be that. Something to hide my identity is all. I acted as if... As if I'd be saving the day by participating in this game. Like a child playing dress up. To think what I did to you..."

I patted her on the head, "You know what you did was wrong. And you only tempted Kaz after he did it. I hate that you did it, but I know why. You were willing to do anything to protect Shinju. I know that feeling..."

"Yeah, well," She was interrupted when the video player began playing a video on it. None of us had put a VHS tape in it, making us wonder how or why it was working. And what it showed me disturbed me to my core.

I was in a rage, frothing, running towards a Shinju clad in full black satin clothes at full speed. I grasped her throat and lifted up her against the wall.

And I choked her out like that, ignoring her desperate attempts to scratch my hands away, her legs kicking out at me. Her entire body finally went limp before the video ended and the VHS tape popped out of the player onto the floor below.

What had I just watched? Was that proof that I... was the Remnant of Despair? That I was the one who betrayed Shinju and my friends? Oh, lord, what would Tojiko do to me now...?

Her response was simple; she shook her head and dismissed it, "Yeah, whatever. That's in the past. We've moved beyond that, right? My sister's alive... but she won't be safe until Monokuma is gone. So let's go, okay...?"

 **-Shinju's POV-**

After we made our proper goodbyes to Koneko, the two of us entered into the furthest regions of the fourth area.

We were in some big room, like the gymnasium. There was a balcony above us, and only too late did we realize it was a big theatre and stage. Unlike the one outside, it had spotlights, recording equipment, and more. All of the monitors must have given the feedback here.

On the balcony overlooking the stage, Granberia greeted us, "Hey, guys. I wish this was on better terms, but..."

I pleaded with her, "Granberry, please! If you give yourself up, we won't hurt you! I made Daisuke promise!"

Daisuke took a step forward, "Fuck that... Stop right there, criminal scum!" he smirked, "You murdered three people... Two of them near and dear to my heart, to yours, to everyone here! Are you so fucking deluded you think we'd have rather live through this then die!?"

"Koneko trusted me to the very end. She knew what I had been ordered to do, and she gave me her blessing. She trusted in me to save us all, with that time machine!" Granberia defended herself.

"You think that would stop me...? Do you have ANY proof it works?" Granberia's silence answered for her, "You stupid fucking cunt! I've had enough!" He leaped forward, running down the stage and heading through the doors to the backstage area.

Seizing my chance, I asked, "Granberia, please... Come down here, and we can hide from him, but please...!"

"And why would I bother doing that?" she glumly answered me, a shell of her former self.

"Because I still love you, Granberia! Please, don't make me lose more than I already have..." I couldn't hold back the voice crack, or my begging tone, or the tears in my eyes.

Granberia was clearly reluctant to, but eventually she relented, "I can hear him tearing through the traps I set up. I suppose it would be best..."

She jumped down from the balcony, a perfect landing as she kneeled down before me to check her bandaged wounds.

I reached into my back pocket to take out something I'd meant to give her. I had gotten Koneko's ring off of her body, and was handing it over to her, "Here, I almost forgot to give you thi-"

"You-!" Before I could hand it to her, she reacted to my movements with insane speed, before pulling out a machete from behind her back and slicing through my left arm in a single cleave.

"-ring..." My hand, extended to give her Koneko's ring, fell to the floor with a loud thump. I stepped back, eyes glossed over as I examined the stump of an arm I had left, severed halfway between my wrist and my elbow. I gagged on reflex, and stepped away from the now-blood covered Granberia.

I don't know if it was just reactionary or if she meant to betray me, but I refused to stay there any longer. I turned and ran, clutching my stump to stem the tide of blood coming from it.

She yelled my name at me, but I kept running.

 **-Daisuke's POV-**

I had done the math. If Granberia and I both died, there'd be four of us left. I was determined to save them. Shinju, Tojiko, Shinji... I hated that Satoshi would get out alive but he wasn't my priority anymore.

He'd killed less of us by then, and no matter how much Shinji might have cared for Granberia, to justify her crimes would be fucking stupid. That stupidity got Koneko killed.

Fuck that. Granberia was dead.

I charged through the two metal doors to the balcony, ripping both off of their hinges in one simultaneous crash. As the path to Granberia lay out before me, I spotted her on the stage below. I had ripped a pipe out from the wall of the maintenance hallway, and with that, I jumped down on top of her with an overhead swing.

She jumped back, easily dodging my initial attack. As expected of such a skilled fighter... "Well, well, there you are... Didn't run this time?"

That was when I glanced over and noticed the severed arm behind her, "Is that... Bitch!" I rushed towards her, knocking her in the chest with my pipe back into the far wall.

She caught herself and landed feet first, before falling down, "I-I didn't mean to! She moved and I reacted and-"

"Excuses!" I charged at her again, swinging the pipe upward. She blocked it with her machete and knocked me back, "I'm ending this right now!"

 **-Shinji's POV-**

We at last reached our destination. In the sixth area, we had moved past everything else, the broken glass dome, the electronic ruins of the comm outpost and simulation chambers, to the main resort building. In this hallowed building, we presumed Monokuma would be awaiting us inside of it.

Fortunately for us, he did the rest of our work for us. Monokuma exited the building with that same old smile, the one that haunted us in countless nightmares, that was burned into the souls of many people across the world. However, I promised myself this would really be Monokuma's last battle.

"Hey, Shinji! What is an ally to Despair doing here!?" Monokuma chuckled, "You saw my video, right? The one who betrayed his own ally, Shinju, was you! How cruel is that!?"

I armed myself with that dragon knife I'd brought with me. The same blade I once wanted to use on myself would now be the demise of this bear.

If I thought about it, I'd come a long way from a sniveling, whiny, emo nerd. Now I was valiantly facing the demon that caused all of our misery on my own accord. Not for anyone else, but my own selfish whims. Everyone's deaths had been engraved in my heart. This would be the defining moment of my life, whether I lived or died.

"I'm here to finish this, bear. Tojiko is here to spectate our fight, and your death."

"Upupupupu! Is that right? A cripple intends to fight me? How sad... First an emotional cripple, now a physical one... I'll accept your challenge!" Monokuma bared his teeth and claws, "No mercy!"

I remembered what I had once been trained with. Move with the world, like water. Flow. Stand strong like the Earth. Be swift like the wind, and burn with the intensity of a volcano. The whole being attuned to elements thing was done to death, but that's because it worked.

I slid my body towards him, under his first claw strike. I pinned the blade through his tail, cutting it off.

He growled, "You little sneak! How dare you insult me!?" He began powering a giant blue laser, "Take THIS!"

He blasted it at me, my life passing my eyes in an instant.

 **-Granberia's POV-**

Daisuke hit me hard with a punch directly into my chest, sending me back onto the stage from the area below, "Damn... Wish I had padding."

"Soon you'll flatline, too," Daisuke gritted through his teeth, bleeding from his lip. I had cut his shoulder, and he had damaged my leg, spraining it at least with his pipe.

"I'm not losing here, cheer boy. I'll just steal your life and survive this sick game!" I decided to bait him into anger, since he was easily moved by words, "If Nari and Koneko couldn't stop me, you won't, either. And poor Shinju is probably bleeding to death right now..."

Daisuke jumped up onto that stage faster than I expected, "Nyah!" He didn't swing the pipe, opting to punch me. I flew back and spiraled through the air before crashing against one of the spotlights and crashing to the stage below. The spotlight creaked, and I barely managed to roll out of its path.

He kicked me off of the stage, right in my teeth. I managed to catch myself and move to knee him. He spat blood and staggered back. I swung my machete, but he ducked just in time, jumping back and preparing to strike again, "How are you this strong!?"

Daisuke smirked, "Because I'm the hero of this story, you cunt!" He jumped forward, and our weapons clashed again.

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Monokuma snapped my knife in two before pawing me in the chest, sending blood splattering. I jumped back to distance myself from him.

Monokuma continued attacking me, though, "Not that easy!" He clawed through my side, reopening the wounds Koneko had given me. Not as deep, but still a concern.

Tojiko shouted my name, and when I turned, she threw something to me. A metal handle?

"Whip it! It's Future Foundation technology!"

I reluctantly whipped it, and it opened up into a katana blade. Oh shit, this was the model of sword Munakata had commissioned. Hell to the yes!

"Now I have the range..." Monokuma and I met in midair, his claws trying to pierce through the blade. However, the metal resisted his claws, and with a swift counterattack, I severed one of his arms.

Monokuma frowned, "Troubling!" He stepped back, but I refused to relent. I dashed after him, and we struck each other.

We sliced through the air and what was only a few moments felt eternal. Then I fell forward, clutching my bad arm. Monokuma had struck it, likely just to be cruel. I was bleeding heavily now, and screamed in agony.

Monokuma moved towards me at lightning speed, kicking me to the ground. With the blade away from me, he slowly marched in on his kill, a devious smile on his face.

Before he could kill me, Tojiko stabbed him in the back with that same sword. He began beeping, and she threw him away by whipping the blade and recoiling it into the handle. Monokuma flew into the air before exploding into a vibrant light show just for the two of us.

Tojiko hurried to my side and helped me to my feet, "What...now?"

Tojiko theorized, "The time machine was transported. It's probably in there now. I might be able to get it to work, but your wounds take priority."

"No... Now I have to stop Daisuke. Once they're safe, I'll be back, okay!?" She gave me a disapproving glare, but I shook my head, "No buts, miss. If I don't go and he doesn't listen, you'd both be in danger."

"At least allow me to bandage you up first," I agreed to Tojiko's request, and she began bandaging me with a first aid kit she had brought just in case.

 **-Shinju's POV-**

I could barely think. The pain was intensive and unrelenting. I stumbled into the nurse's office, crying to myself. Fuck... How could I patch this up with one hand!? I was bleeding badly, and terrified that I might bleed out. Then I heard footsteps, and I glanced at the door, where Satoshi stepped inside, a smirk on his face and sewing needles on hand.

"How fortunate for us both you came here," he grinned.

"Wh-what do you w-want from me?" I stammered, scared of him. I was backed into a corner, and I had no way to escape now.

He shook his head, "You know... I was told the secret of this game, and... I thought fuck it. None of us matter, our feelings, our lives, none of it's worth anything... But I see how spirited you guys are, how strongly you resist, even in the face of inevitable death and... It warms my heart. No pun intended."

He walked over to the medicine table and began removing supplies, "So I can sew up your stump, if you want. Or I can let you bleed to death. Your call, really."

I had done some pretty stupid stuff before. Could trusting Satoshi be any worse? "Thank y-you..."

I seated myself on the bed and he quickly got to work. First, he disinfected the wound, and then he began sewing, "I... I... Well, no... It's far too late for me to think of things like regret or guilt."

"You're feeling guilty?"

"Of course I do!" he yelled, scaring me, "I fuckin' went absolutely batshit." he chuckled, as if it was funny, "I guess Kibou's death rattled me.. And then finding out... Finding out what that fucking bastard did..."

I furrowed my brow, "Who's the bastard?"

He sighed, "...Kiyo wouldn't want me to tell, but he's not here right now... Shinji's the god damned member of Despair. He betrayed you, his assistant, and locked you up. Then he... did something unforgivable."

"What!? What is it, Satoshi? What could be so bad!?"

"If I told you... It would break you. Like it... did to me," he gulped as he finished sewing up my arm and wiped the blood off of his hands onto his blood-stained shirt, "This is a truth not worth knowing, believe me."

And like that, he went to leave.

"Satoshi, thanks... For saving me," I thanked him, much to his surprise.

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "God, don't trust me. I'm just... being a good leader. Like I...always wanted. Like...Shizue wanted me to be."

And with that, he left. Now, what was I to do?

 **-Tojiko's POV-**

Shinji had already headed off to intercept Daisuke on his mission of burning the witch at the stake. Meanwhile, I charged into the building, only to find the lights on and the machine in the center.

There was nothing inside but that machine, and I walked over to it. Interestingly enough, it already had a date on it. It was set to... What? A few months before our first year at Hope's Peak would have been. And that date... Why did I recognize it? December 17th...

Then I realized why it was set to that time, and before I could mess with it, my bracelet set off, and I blacked out...

 **-Granberia's POV-**

Luckily for me, I had woken up first. But why had I been knocked out? What the hell did Monokuma do!?

Daisuke finally awoke, and he was quick to his feet, "Who did you kill this time!?"

"I didn't! Monokuma knocked me out, too!" The truth wasn't sitting well with him.

"Yeah, right," He lunged at me, and I grabbed his left arm he had held back, before twisting him and knocking him to the ground. He dropped the pipe, and when I raised my machete to end his life, he punted me with his free hand, right into my groin.

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Had Granberia killed Daisuke or Shinju or Tojiko or Satoshi? I had no idea of knowing when I woke up. I heard a scream; it came from somewhere deeper in the fourth area, and was running at full speed to interrupt whatever was going on.

I finally reached where I heard the noises coming from, and burst into the room without hesitation. I had pulled the magnum out, and was ready for all out warfare once I opened that door.

What I was greeted with was still better than Twilight, though. For inside, Daisuke was reeling after Granberia headbutted him off of her and crawled away to her machete on the floor, "Enough!"

Both of them recognized my presence, and the gun in my hand, "Shinji? You came to help!?"

I aimed the gun at him, "Stand down, Daisuke," he went to argue, "No! Shut the fuck up! Monokuma is dead! The machine is ours! This is over!"

"Shinji, you came to save me?" Granberia asked, somewhat surprised.

"Don't test me," I warned, "If you harm one of us again now... I won't hesitate. That goes for both of you. This game is... finally, finally over."

A voice caught us all off guard, "Except it's not," Misery stepped inside from behind me. She walked past me into the center of the three of us, "Another of you has died. You might want to relocate to the freezer room."

"Koneko saw you die! What the hell!?" Granberia didn't expect her to still be alive.

"I faked my death," she answered, "A necessary precaution, as I am the true mastermind of this game. A game with one traitor left. I'd hurry if I were you all."

I instead aimed my magnum at her, "You want some of this? I've had enough of this game!"

Misery shook her head, "This game was necessary for you all to understand the truth. And still you've yet to understand it. So go, confront the traitor. Learn the truth. And then we shall end this charade."

Daisuke rushed at her in an attempt to subdue her, but she easily dodged him before flipping him upside down and pile driving him into the ground. Random RKO out of nowhere!

"Is that all?" she dared us to challenge her, and we rightfully and correctly declined. She left us with an unconscious Daisuke and a bad feeling hanging over us like a certain Ultimate Musician.

I sighed, "What should we do?"

Daisuke groaned before rubbing the back of his head and slowly getting to his feet, "Jesus, but she's good..."

Granberia clung to me, "Let's go to the freezer. I'll uh... watch your six."

The three of us, dysfunctional a group as ever, made our way to the fourth area. We didn't speak or encounter anyone on the way. Each step made me dread what we would find more and more as we entered the darkened hallways as the sun began to set.

Finally, we arrived outside the freezing doorways, cold wisps of air flowing from underneath. I could only hold my breath in fear. The door awaited me to open it, and with much fear and panic, I slowly opened it.

As the three of us stepped inside, one by one, we were assaulted by a gruesome site. Kibou was on a nearby table, and she had been... "completed". Her legs looked the freshest, and I felt sick to my stomach and vomited into the corner.

Granberia quickly observed the surroundings, "He's not in here right now... I think." she hurried over to the body and made some discoveries, "Hanako's arms, Nari's body... Someone's legs."

Daisuke stomped over, "Who the fuck gave him his legs!?"

"That Sakyubasu girl," Satoshi answered as he stepped out from one of the inner rooms of the freezer, gloves on and an eerie smile on his face, "She didn't struggle when she was asleep."

I had already placed my magnum in my hand, aiming it directly at his heart, "You motherfucker! Why would you kill her!?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes at me, the bastard, "I needed Kibou to return to me, guys... We celebrated, too."

"Oh god, he fucked the corpse," Granberia pointed out, making me confused, cucked, and enraged at the same time.

"How dare you call Kibou a corpse!" Satoshi defended himself, "She is a human being, damn you!"

I was so done with this. I walked towards him before knocking him out of my way. I opened the door to the back room and my heart stopped. And as it did, my bracelet beeped. It now read; Kill or harm Satoshi.

In front of me was a frozen to death Tojiko, tears forever frozen on her corpse. Her legs were missing, and I determined she'd died of freezing or shock. He had amputated her legs when she was alive, the fucker!

I stormed out into the room, gun aimed, "Don't make me shoot you in the fucking head! You killed Tojiko!"

Satoshi shrugged, "Yeah, of course. Shinju's still a classmate of mine. I couldn't hurt her, not after I saved her life."

"The fuck kind of logic IS that!?" I placed the gun against his throat, "Not even listening!"

Granberia begged, "Don't! Our actions!"

Daisuke checked his, "Hell, I'll sacrifice myself for this. Give me the gun, Shinji, I'll do it."

"No! We've had enough death!" I refused. Instead, I tried something else. I aimed the gun at Kibou's head and threatened, "Satoshi, kill yourself or Kibou dies! Now!"

Satoshi cursed under his breath, "What!? No!" he lunged for the gun, but I pushed him away, and Daisuke, realizing my plan, nudged him into the doorway, where he knocked an extinguisher to the floor.

I placed the gun against Kibou's temple, "Last chance, Satoshi. Is Kibou worth your life?"

"I..." Before he could answer, a swiss army knife, a familiar one at that, pierced the back of his stomach. The blade moved to the right, gutting him.

He crumpled to the floor with one surprised gasp, not even a scream. Shinju pinned him down with her knees and began assaulting his face with the blade, carving him like a jack-o-lantern. She did this with great hatred and anger, brutalizing the bastard who had murdered his sister.

The entire time, Satoshi didn't scream. He calmly accepted his fate, as if pleased with this ending. And like that, he was brutally and mercilessly killed just as his victims had; a fitting fate for a fuck like him.

Deciding to get my own satisfaction out of this, I blasted Kibou's head apart with a magnum round, sending pieces of her remains flying in one gratifying head explosion.

Granberia finally rushed out of her shocked state and knocked Shinju to the floor, her knife flying away, "Shinju, your action!"

Shinju raised her stump, "What action?" Oh, right... That was an option.

I feel stupid now.

Shinju glared at Granberia, "You're lucky this worked out or... Well, I don't know if any of us can forgive you."

"Nope," Daisuke firmly denied the notion, "Not forgiving you."

Granberia folded her arms, "Yeah... I get it. I don't deserve to be alive right now. I know."

I was concerned now, "The game is over, the number's been fulfilled, and I... I'm Despair. I should reawaken now, at any time..." I was debating what to do, "But if I off myself now..."

"No!" Shinju clung to me, knocking the gun out of my hands, "I don't care if you're Despair, or my brother, or whatever else! Please, please don't leave me again!" She was covering me in tears as she weeped uncontrollably, "Is it so wrong for me to be with you!? It's all I have left now... My sister was taken, my family, most of my friends... Please don't do this to meee!"

Granberia and Daisuke looked on, both unsure what to say or what to do. This day had been a tragedy in every way, and I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for not stopping this earlier. The guilt of it all weighing in on me, knowing it was my fault...

It was despair-inducing.

Daisuke, Granberia, Shinju, and I passed out in our rooms, the first time we had been to them in so, so long. And I was alone in my cabin, with eight rings on my fingers. Takuro, Kiyo, Jun, Mayumi, Shizue, Nari, Koneko, and mine. I had remade Kiyo's as for Tojiko, but she too was lost to me.

The memories came to me in fragments. Coming to the island, locking the others in their own machines. Working with Shinju, bonding with them, the guilt of leading them on to despair time and time again but still following through.

But what was missing was the most important part; why I had betrayed Shinju in the first place.

A knock at the door ripped me out of my stupor, "What?" I walked to the door, and Misery smiled at me, "If it isn't the mastermind..."

Misery grabbed me by my collar and kissed me roughly. Help, molestation! She pulled back and apologized, "Sorry, it's been... a long time. Since I fell in love with you."

"For fuck's sake, what did I do at this resort!?" I exclaimed, so confused right now.

"You... Well, I made a promise to you before you sunk yourself in the simulations. After you betrayed Shinju, I mean. I came to fulfill that promise," she offered, "The time machine is ready for you, if you'd like..."

This felt off, very off, "Why would I go alone?"

Misery shook her head, "The machine doesn't take you back, unfortunately. All it does is allow you to experience past events. You never had a chance to save yourselves."

So Granberia killed for naught, hm? "Why? What do I need to see?"

"The truth, Shinji... You need to see it," she said it cryptically.

I felt how off this all felt, and did what came natural, "Hell no. I'll be going back to bed."

Misery frowned, "Very well... I'll have to force you."

"Wait wha-" Boom. I was out. Instant KO, like Glass Joe.

 **-Granberia's POV-**

It was late, and I felt frightened. I was worried, about myself, about the machine, about everyone. I decided to sneak into the last area again and use it for myself. I had to undo my crimes.

No one was outside, so with great tact and swiftness I made my way to the sixth area. When I entered the room to the time machine, I found Shinji, in a daze. He had fallen out of the machine, and Misery left the controls.

"He has been informed of the truth behind a certain incident," Misery offered an explanation, but I ignored her.

Shinji, in tears, clung to me, "Granberia... I... Can we please just go to my cabin? I want to sleep... The time machine... I tested it, and it works. We should do it together."

"But-"

"Together," he reprimanded me.

I sighed, "Fine, I'll go with you, okay?"

He smiled and released the tension in his body, "Yeah, um... I have to explain to you, too. We came here for a year, and bonded. And then Shinju and I, we placed you in these simulation chambers. Drugged your food and set you up. And we participated in it, too. For a year." He was finally explaining the truth behind all of this?

"I betrayed Shinju, knocked her unconscious by choking her, and forced her into the chamber. Then I joined in as well. Sabotaged all of our memories to forget all of the games. Future Foundation discovered us like that, released us, and set this game up as such. After Tojiko messed with me for six months, and made you all suffer with me..."

Misery nodded, "Yeah... I was there for it all. Shinji felt great regret after betraying his teammate, and he... Well, he asked me to watch over you all. He wanted you to be released when Future Foundation came..."

Shinji shook his head, "I'm the one who caused all of this... I don't deserve to-"

I slapped him, "None of that nonsense now! It's too late to regret that... Please, just... Tomorrow, we'll use the time machine and get out of here, okay!?"

Shinji hesitated, but he finally caved, "Alright... I promise." He wiped his tears away and held out his hand. I gently grasped his and we smiled at each other.

And with that promise, we headed back to my cottage and I fell asleep in his arms, after hearing his light breathing. I could barely believe he still trusted me, but even if it was for just one night, I took full advantage of it.

The next morning, I woke up first. I nudged Shinji awake and demanded he get dressed. I did so posthaste, "Come on, sleepyhead."

Shinji frowned, "Too tired... I just wanna sleep in!"

"Nope, we're going to use the time machine today. Bright and early, you slore," I insisted.

He finally dressed himself and the two of us stepped out, "Should we get the others or...?"

"Let's wait for them at the machine. I'm worried Misery might try something." The two of us hurried to the sixth area, and that bad feeling I had only grew worse.

As we climbed the stairs to the sixth area, we were greeted by a cheerful Daisuke, "Hey, guys. Waited for you. Figured you'd be up early to play with our new toy, huh?"

"It's not a toy, dumbass," I corrected him, "It's our hope. Please don't even think about messing with it."

"I'm not, damn! It was just a joke!" he laughed awkwardly, "Come on, let's go save our future!"

The three of us walked through the sixth area. The simulation machines, where Shinji had forced us inside. The comm station, where Junko corrupted the world.

But finally, we made it to the final building, where inside lay the time machine. Triumphantly, I reached forward and opened the door, and inside we found...

Blood. Blood covering the floor, splattered onto the ceiling. The time machine was in hundreds of parts, scattered around everywhere.

Worst of all though, was the body. Shinju's corpse had been brutally disfigured, blood encasing her whole body and the room itself. Her eyes were removed, her face was cut into a permanent frown, and her body showed signs of torture.

Shinji fell back against the wall, puking onto the floor and already degenerating into a slobbering mess.

Daisuke cursed and immediately laid blame, "Granberia, you bitch!"

He lunged for me, but I dodged him, "You did this, bastard!"

Shinji was unable to intervene, no longer able to communicate with either of us. He was really, truly broken.

Ding! A final despair fragment was collected, and the room's lights turned on, illuminating us.

"Despair has yet to be revealed," Misery announced to us, "Shinji is not the member of Despair."

"What!?" The three of us exclaimed in unison.

She just continued, ignoring us, "So Daisuke, Granberia, which of you do you think it is?"

I glared at Daisuke, "It was you all along!?"

Daisuke refused to think like that, "Hell no! It's you!" He ran to the corpse and removed the swiss army knife impaled in her chest.

Angrily, he charged at me and knocked me to the floor, trying desperately to impale me with it. I struggled with him, hoping to knock him off of me.

Shinji knocked him off, and Daisuke sliced through the air, cutting through Shinji's side. He yelped and stumbled back.

Daisuke had a crazed look in his eyes, as if he was lost forever. Without hesitation, he lunged for me again, though I rolled out of the way in the nick of time. Drawing my machete, I prepared myself for the final conflict with Ultimate Despair...


	37. Chapter Six-Paragone

**Author's Note:And to this we have the somewhat smaller conclusion chapter to this story. Or do we? And the last FTE is thrown in as well.**

 **There's an epilogue coming, though, so this isn't over, yet. This story is yet to be fully concluded. I do apologize for the seeming shortness of this one, but adding more would have been fluff/filler, so let's get this posted. :3 And await said epilogue. XD**

 **Chapter Six-Paragone**

 **Survival Life**

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Daisuke and Granberia were now in a fight for their life. I couldn't stop them as the brutal battle began. Blade clashed against blade as they dueled it out. No, what could I do!?

Granberia lunged first, swiping at Daisuke's legs. He jumped over her blade and knocked her back with a headbutt before attempting to kill her again.

Unlucky as ever, Granberia knocked him off balance with a quick kick, sending him falling over her. She struck him with the machete, cutting his face above his eye, though he evaded fatal damage.

I yelled and pleaded for them to stop, but neither did. They were both fully in the belief the other was Despair, and they were doing their best to kill the other.

Granberia baited Daisuke once more, "You always said Shinju reminded you of your sister, huh? I bet she really does now!"

The bait took, and he whipped through the air and uppercutted Granberia without skipping a beat. She flew back, and he replied, "I'm not showing trash like you mercy."

Well, screw it. I jumped in between them as they clashed. The knife pierced my side, and the machete cut my side. I screamed out in agony before pushing them both back, "Enough!"

Misery knocked me out of the way with a brutal kick, "No, fight. Or Shinji dies." Misery showed us her secret weapon, literally. The magnum.

I begged her, "Misery, please! Don't make them do this!"

"Shut it, Romantic. This needs to happen. It's the final battle of our story," Misery commanded, "This is what needs to happen. The Despair member has to pay for their crimes, and until you understand that, you will fight and kill."

Daisuke put the knife down, "No... I'm done. You're baiting us. You killed Shinju, didn't you!?"

Granberia agreed, "Everything in this game was a trap! You're just after all of us dying now!"

Misery shrugged, "Think that way, then. Shinji... Choose who dies."

"Neither... I don't want either of them to die!" I screamed at her, a fruitless effort.

She just shook her head, "Wrong answer." She pulled the trigger without hesitation, and I could only stare on dumbfounded as the bullet tore through Daisuke's neck. He stumbled and grabbed his throat as he collapsed to the floor.

I ran over, desperate to stop the flow of blood, but I already couldn't feel a pulse. Daisuke was dead.

Misery aimed the gun at Granberia next, "Any last words?"

Granberia went on the offensive and dashed at Misery to disarm her. Misery easily dodged her and stomped down, forcing her to the floor. She fell unconscious when she hit the concrete floor, blood leaking from her injured head.

Misery pointed the gun at Granberia's temple, "Still not adhering to the truth, huh, Shinji?"

"What are you even talking about!?" I yelled, "Let her go!"

"She's already dead," Misery pulled the trigger, looking into my eyes as she did it.

In a rage, I lunged towards her. Every bit of emotion empowered me to attack her, and right when I reached her, the world went black.

. Glitches compounding... Attempt to restart. Reboot failed.

 **-Shinji's POV-**

I felt cold, and the taste in my mouth was metallic and artificial. I struggled, struggled against the cords tying me down, struggled and struggled until the glass cracked and the chamber I was in exploded into pieces.

I arose from the mysterious liquids clinging to my body, now fully nude. I was in the simulation chamber room. What...?

I fell out of my chamber, adjusting to my new body. I had been fighting for my life a minute ago, so why!?

The realization dawned over me. All this time, I'd never considered we were in a simulation. I mean, it happened to the Remnants of Despair! They wouldn't use the same plot device twice, right? Like...memory loss or Junko being the final boss... Okay, yeah, I have a point.

Unlike the simulation room in the resort, however, the room I found myself in was dark, grey, metallic, and filled with that new building smell. Like it hadn't been in use for long. The chambers surrounded the central computer, and when I walked up to the monitor, I confirmed that I had been the only participant in the game.

Could there be more info here? I typed up looking for something, and what I could grasp is that I was the last one placed inside. The last simulation was run by one Tojiko Sakyubasu.

She was here, then. Does that mean the other captors were here, too? Why was I singled out for this last simulation, then? There was no need for them to put themselves in the game as characters.

That brought me back to their original goal. They were to intervene in the trials to embolden the killer to hide themselves. I assumed they did it to mix the game up, but perhaps they had tried before, and regular games hadn't worked?

And then they changed the rules to the Final Killing Game. Perhaps they realized midway their end results weren't possible in that state and started a different game to make up for it. The goal was clearly to kill everyone off except for Misery and myself, but why?

Where was everyone else? They had to exist, right? My headache was back now, and I grabbed my head and knelt down in pain. My brain was trying to remember things again, and it was taking a severe toll on me this time.

Finally, it dissipated long enough for cognition to work again. Okay, let me think. If this had been a simulation, no one had died... Right? Finding my friends was my only concern now, and I would go to any lengths to find them now. But first, I needed to get some freakin' clothes.

I stumbled through the room, my legs shaky from having been in disuse. How long had I been in there? Would this be a simulation in another simulation? God, what if the universe was just a computer program?

 _Stop, stop, stop. No more meta thinking. Focus, me. Where would they put clothes?_

I pressed my hand against the door and slowly forced it open. The entire complex was inside, a vast change from the barren sixth area I remembered. Would the layout be the same besides that?

Marching through the hallway, I found a janitorial closet and pulled the knob. It opened, and inside I found a set of clothes, likely left by a janitor who intended to change himself in here.

They were too big for me, but they would do for now. My biggest priority was ahead of me. Stepping back into the hallway, I found a diagram on the wall, the 'You are here' kind designed to help newcomers find their way around. The diagram directed me eastwards to the comm room. I was going to fully explore this complex before I did anything else.

I only noticed my own self as I struggled to make my way down to the comm room. I was skinny, emaciated. As if I'd been fasting for months. I felt weak, but at the same time, was delighted to have my body back in working order. But what about my friends!? What about them!?

The communications room was still in one piece this time. There was a large central hub, with camera feeds from the rest of the building in the back. Presumably, security would run the resort from here, monitor the students or simulations, and have easy access to communication with the outside.

This damn hub could display and send information internationally, helpful for anything from tweeting to ending the world, apparently. No one was inside, though, and there were layers of dust on the main keypad.

I searched around and found another diagram; this one highlighted a meeting room, which led down a long hallway through several more rooms to a heliport on the roof of this building. As expected, there was no time machine in this complex. That was just a fever dream; one even Hope's Peak couldn't yet manage.

Would the meeting room be abandoned too? Or worse, would it not be? I was scared, to find the truth, to meet someone here, and what lay ahead.

Marching as quickly as I could, I found the set of double doors and kicked them open, knocking them off of their hinges. Damn, that felt good, and I needed to let some steam off after what I had already been through.

Inside, Kenta, Izuru, Tojiko, and Kiyo greeted me, "How is it possible!?" Kenta exclaimed, "He overloaded our systems!"

"Damn right," I replied smirking, "I told you, Kenta. My emotions have no limits! Your torture ends now!"

Kenta adjusted his glasses, "Come now, boy. You can't seriously think I'd be unarmed, did you?" He flashed his magnum before holstering it again, "Now let's stay civil. Understood?"

I didn't answer him, "Why? Why was I thrown into that...nightmare!?"

Tojiko quietly answered, "As requested by Future Foundation, we ran it to ensure you were not Despair, but the assistant. You sabotaged the records here, likely to cover the tracks of the real Despair."

"And who the hell is that!?" Seriously, it was time to know that truth!

Izuru addressed that one, "One Shinju Sakyubasu, alternatively known as Shinju Kizami. Your blood twin seduced you with her wiles and coerced you into joining her program to study despair for Junko. After Enoshima's death, you both continued the project, though over time you had a falling out with her."

That was something at least, "I'm glad I wisened up and stopped her! My friends never deserved that!"

"Your friends?" Kenta smirked, "You have no friends."

Tojiko quieted him down, "Kenta, don't say it! We found the information we were looking for, let's just go already. We need to report back to Future Foundation."

Izuru chuckled, "Maybe Kenta's reluctant to do that, considering we all know of his Sakai Project. None of that was false information, was it, Kenta?"

Kenta was sweating at this point, "What? Of course it was. I'm an esteemed member of Future Foundation, not a lowly terrorist!"

Izuru took a couple of steps towards him, "So sure about that? I have evidence to the contrary."

Kenta sputtered, trying to defend himself, "I, uh, Izuru, seriously. Now is not the time for japes. It's best we evacuate now, in case Shinji decides to retaliate violently," he stressed, "Tojiko has much to fear for what she did to him."

"I'd never hurt her," I promised outright, "She didn't stomp a kitten to death. She tried to... To protect her sister."

Tojiko refused to look me in the eyes, making me wonder how she truly felt about me. That wasn't my major concern, of course.

Kenta removed the revolver from his back pocket, "Alright, let's make this simple. Everyone here is basically a witness now." He aimed his gun at Izuru and fired, knocking him back.

Then he aimed at me, but before he fired, Kiyo grabbed his arm, "Stop it, Kenta! This isn't right!" The first bullet ricocheted harmlessly off of the ground, but the second struck Kiyo in the chest.

Kenta pushed him away and fired again into Kiyo's chest before grabbing Tojiko in a strangle hold, "Alright, none of this! You stay back, Shinji! If you follow me, I'll kill the girl, understood!?"

"Kenta, what do you plan on doing now!?" I yelled at him, desperate to know his true aim here.

"The heliport, of course! I'm going to return to Future Foundation and plan out my next project! I may not rule the world, but I think greed and evil's at an all time low, don't you think?" Kenta was maniacal, clearly lost to his own self-deluded grandeur.

I decided to ignite the insecurities in him, "Kenta, it's fine. I'm sure your mom wouldn't be disappointed in you."

"Gh!" Kenta growled at me before tossing Tojiko away and stomping in my direction. He grabbed me by my hair, and in my weakened state I had no chance of breaking free, "Damned simulation! Ran us too effectively! This would have been a clean break, too, but now things had to get messy!"

Before he could pull the trigger, he was floored by Misery, who had likely been observing us. She knocked him to the ground with ease and quickly snatched his revolver up off the floor before shooting him in the skull.

Kenta didn't move after the bullet pierced his head, and with no sign of breathing, I assumed he was dead. Misery checked his pulse, "Yeah, that's one problem solved."

Ignoring her, I was already at Kiyo's side. He was bleeding profusely, and he gave me one last smirk, "I knew you were innocent... Shinji. I regretted forcing you into that program but... It was necessary, I truly believe that."

"Kiyo, don't talk, you're bleeding badly. I need to get you medical aid immediately!" I asked, "Misery, can you do something!?"

"Afraid not... I... I'm feeling the cold already... T-take this..." he handed me his ring and closed my hand around it, "I'll always be... with you, Shinji." His head lulled to the side, and all I could do was cry and curse. I had finally gotten Kiyo back, dammit!

Izuru was standing behind me, brushing off his suit, "Kevlar vest was a nice call, Misery."

Misery didn't agree, "I apologize, Izuru sir. Because of my lateness, Kiyo has... He's..."

"It might have been necessary to prove Kenta's unalienable guilt," he sighed, "And enough of this Izuru stuff. My name is Hajime Hinata, and I don't need that cover anymore."

Saying my silent goodbyes to Kiyo, I stood up, "So am I getting an explanation or did my friend die for nothing?"

Misery decided to ramp things up, handing Tojiko the gun, "Here. You want revenge, right? He killed your sister."

"What!?" I didn't believe THAT for a hot second, "The fuck are you on about!?"

"You choked her out and disposed of her. That whole putting her in a simulation thing was garbage. When Future Foundation got here, it was you and me," Misery explained, "Get it? Shinju was out of the picture by then."

"Is that really true?" Tojiko asked, uncertain, "From what I've seen of him in that simulation, I seriously doubt he would hurt her... He really, truly loved her."

I shook my head, "Well, no shit."

Misery sighed, "Are you sure? This will be your only chance for vengeance. And he did kill Shinju; you saw the video, and I was here for the rest."

Tojiko hesitated at that, "But-"

Hajime confirmed for her, "It's unfortunately true. Once he learned the truth, even he couldn't stop himself."

"I doubt anything she did would make me-" Hajime's glare made me quiet myself instantly.

"Then let me explain it to you. The reason you attacked her was because of something she did," he moved to a nearby computer and rapidly typed. A monitor above us began playing a video.

Shinju was in her black clothes, dark and standing out to the grey background area. Her eyes were a deeper red than ever before, a telltale mark of despair. She must have invited Shinji, myself, to the meeting room. A camera observed us from the rear corner, the way this video displayed us.

"Shinju, I've had enough with this. I've never agreed with you!" My old self clenched his fist and spoke emphatically, "I'm not Despair! And I'm going to free the others, understand!?"

Shinju rolled her eyes, "Shinji, our experiment is paramount... If we don't complete this operation, Enoshima's remnants, or worse, Future Foundation will dispose of us! You can't back out now."

"Screw that!" I tried to move past her, but she blocked my path, "Back off, Despair! You've lost already! No matter how much I love you, I can't do this anymore!"

Shinju put a finger to her lip, "So if I made you despair, THAT would convince you to stick with me?"

I sighed, "God, but you're stubborn. No, I refuse! There's simply no way you could ever send me into despair! You're wasting my time!"

Shinju smirked evilly, "I don't know about that... I befriended Miss Enoshima, and when she learned of my love for you, she used it. Promised me that if I joined Despair, I'd get to have you. And here we are," she looked down at her gloved hands, "So kindly don't ruin this for me."

"You have me now, huh!? God, if Jun had never died-" That was when my brain connected the dots.

"Oh, how brutal and savage her death was. And for you to be forced to watch..." I had never told her the truth of her death, which could only mean...

"You... You... You..." Losing control of himself, the old Shinji grabbed her by the throat, "I'll show you my rage! I'll show you my... My misery at your hands!" And the video continued as I had seen it; Shinju desperately resisting and my past self unrelenting in choking her out so cruelly.

The video ended, and I slowly glanced down at my own hands, "With these hands, I..."

Misery finished the thought, "Killed her, yes. So Tojiko, he did it. Proof's in the video there. You have a gun. Kill him or don't, but try to manage it."

Tojiko looked down at the gun and then back to me. She was hesitant; that was clear to me. I very likely could die in the next few moments, dependent on her. There would only be one bullet left, so if she failed to aim correctly, I could survive.

That being said, I took a step towards her, "I trust you, Tojiko. With my life, even... I'll accept your judgement. But I just want to know where the hell my friends are."

Hajime answered, "Dead. You killed them off as well."

...What? "No, no, that can't be right... Tojiko, Misery, someone please tell me he's lying!" I was pleading, "Why would I do that to them!?"

Misery pointed at me, "You disposed of them after dealing with Shinju. So caught up in the despair and anger and hatred that she marred you with, you removed the others from their simulations. When Future Foundation arrived, there was only me here. And I confirmed to them what you had done... That you had killed them all. That simulation was to make you fully realize that loss."

Hajime sat down in his revolving chair, "The others wanted to determine the possibility of you falling into despair. That being said... Your fate is up to Tojiko's now."

Tojiko lowered the gun, "How could I? This guy killed everyone close to him... He's not happy about it, so he's clearly changed."

"Maybe consider it mercy, then," Misery offered, "Let him die with some sanity intact, in case he only gets worse from here on out."

I ignored them; I was breaking down.

This entire simulation was fucking pointless!? All my friends had been long dead, at least six months ago, and I did it!? Granberia, Koneko, Mayumi, Takumi, Shizue, Daisuke...All of them!?

I think that was the moment when I felt true despair. Not like any before it, one that crippled the senses and dulled down my personality.

I fell to my knees, cursing to myself. I punched the ground in exasperation, the blood quickly spilling, my knuckles begging me to stop, "Why!? Why!? Why did this have to happen!?"

"Despair," Misery replied, "It numbs the senses and warps our minds. Many have done as such in that state."

"I should have... Been better than that!" I punched the ground even harder this time, feeling my skin rip off, "I... I don't deserve to..."

Misery encouraged Tojiko, "See, he wants to die. This is despair in its early moments..."

I was naught but a shell of my former self, but even so...

"I... can't die here," I murmured, before repeating it, "I can't die here. Our story has to be known, their deaths can't just be forgotten! They deserve better!"

Misery cruelly countered, "Deserved better than what YOU gave them!?"

That cut deeply, "I..." I looked back down to the ground in defeat.

Misery sighed, "Is that your hope now?" she turned to Tojiko, "Well?"

Tojiko handed her the gun, "No... I...I won't do this."

Misery acknowledged it quite readily, "Not surprised in the least," she grabbed the gun and approached me, "Shall we take a break, then? We have some time before the Foundation gets here."

And like that, ever so casually, Misery led me to a small break room. Hajime made us all coffee, and the four of us sat in silence.

"Are you alright?" Hajime spoke up first, "I mean... I can barely imagine how bad this is for you. Back when I found out I had become despair..."

Misery remarked, "You shut down your brain for awhile. He seems to be doing the same right now."

"I... I feel...numb. Dead inside. Depressed. Pure and relentless despair," I honestly confessed, "What the hell else would I be!?" I slammed my head against the table, "Why..."

Tojiko tried to comfort me, "It's over, Shinji," Misery glanced at her, "Probably over, anyways. You need to look ahead, okay?"

Behind us, Hajime pressed a button, and in one of the camera feeds, the front gate opened up to this area.

"Future Foundation will arrive soon, and it shall demand proof of what happened here, that we handled it." She trailed off.

I didn't understand any of this. To think of all that had happened... That everything I did, all that I suffered was pointless in the end.

Hajime spoke up, "Everyone, the others have arrived. Shinji will be pressed to make a choice soon."

"What choice is he even on about!?" I yelled out in desperation.

Misery walked over to me, "Future Foundation wants a confirmed dead Despair. Which is either yours, the assistant, or Shinju's."

"Oh, so... Without Shinju's body, I have to die?" I faced the hard truth of the situation.

"Are you that certain already, man!?" That voice... That slightly nasally but surprisingly deeper than expected voice...

Entering from the hallway, a bespectacled visitor joined us, overwhelmingly familiar, "Hanako and I didn't place bets on you to fuck up now, man," Kenji smirked. He was considerably older now, taller, but that same grin, that same scarf.

Hanako, speak of the poor girl, followed after him, "Kenji, you ruined the surprise! We weren't supposed to come out until after he made his choice!" Her hair was slightly longer now, and she sported new clothes; normal clothes, not the maid uniform of old.

"You guys are..." I fell to my knees, tears flowing freely, "But they said-"

Misery cut me off, "You pretended to kill them off, but truthfully? You shipped them off to a second resort to live in solitude. You told them the truth of what happened, and... Well, I contacted them, and asked if they wanted to be here for the end of your game."

Kenji greeted me with a hug, "Sorry for the game, man. We saw it all. Really fucked up what happened, but... Well, you saw the past, right?"

"None of this is okay!" I said angrily, "You guys... I..."

Misery shook her head, "Might as well see the others before I reveal the decision you have to make." The five of us walked down the hallway back to the meeting room, where we were greeted by Hajime and fourteen other familiar faces.

Kibou greeted me first. She had abandoned those awful heels, but she was now sporting shorter hair, tied up in a bun, "Hey, hey, hey! Was it fun!? I mean, killing is never good, but I did it for Senpai because he means so much to me and hey, did you like me in that game? I went over the top, but I always wanted to pretend to be a serial killer so Misery programmed that in for me and it was awesome and cool and amazing!"

Satoshi grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away from me, "Calm down, motormouth. We've fucked him up enough. And seriously, making me a necrophile!? Your fiction of me is tasteless!" He was mostly the same, short haircut, dapper and neatly pressed clothing.

The two continued to argue in the corner while Kaz greeted me with a firm handshake, "Master Kizam... Shinji, I am glad to be reacquainted with you. I apologize for the game; Misery informed us all of its importance in your future." Kaz was dressed up in his same butler clothes, and they were as perfect as ever.

Daisuke shook his head, "Damn it, Misery, you killed me off without a chance. Geez... I thought I'd win."

Granberia rebuked him, "Yeah, right. You couldn't even beat your meat."

"And you could have been the perfect cutting board with your condensed milk jugs!" The two of them glared at each other as sparks flew between them.

I ignored them, "So Kaz, did you pop the question? Do you still like Daisuke or what? Don't leave me hanging!"

Kaz blushed, "Master Kizami, now is not the time."

Mayumi bowed to me, "Your performance was exemplary, Shinji. As expected of one befitting to be my husband." She was just as lively as ever, not too quiet, but elegant in her own maturity. She was wearing a teal kimono, which touched my heart. She remembered my favorite color, and bothered to dress up for this reuniting.

"Ey, ey, ey, I just got out from a simulation," I argued, "Please, no major commitment choices right now. I'm... kind of stressed out. A little dead inside," I joked.

Nari seductively groped me as she snuck up behind me, "Oh, that's alright. I can relieve your stress."

"Stranger danger," I pushed her off of me, "Space, now."

Nari sighed, "Figures, prude." She wasn't dressed as provocatively as she had been, in her old uniform, "I even wore my old outfit to entice you, too..."

Koneko glomped me to the ground before nuzzling her nose on mine, "Shinji, oh you... You cared so much for us, it touched my heart! I can't believe you were once Despair!"

Nari pulled Koneko off of me and began molesting the kitten herself, "Oh, who's a good kitten? Who's my naughty neko..."

Koneko was fully free of her earlier restraints, letting her wilder senses go wild as she purred softly to Nari's gentle touch.

"For the record, you did make the rings for us," Shizue showed off hers, "Just like in that game... Left them for us when you sent us off." Shizue was dressed up in typical, everyday clothes, "I've been fine, being myself."

"As you should be," I pouted, "You're fine as you are."

"Your behaviour interested me, you know?" Emiko was alive and well, wearing the same uniform as Nari, likely to match, "You even deleted your own memories to ensure you wouldn't leave here to find us," Emiko added, a smirk on her face, "This was a perfect social experiment, though! No worries, Shinji. It was just a prank, bro."

I glared at her, but Takumi interrupted me, "Hey, it's me, man! I'm not dead!" He was taller than me now, and had grown his hair out long now, "Ya miss me?"

"You all suck so much," I said, smiling in between my tears, "I can't believe this..."

Akihiko chuckled, "I've been waiting for this. To see how you'd come out. I was worried, you know." he cracked his knuckles. He was shirtless, just a jacket and running shorts on. He had that same confident smirk, and his face had a few more scars now.

I shrugged, "Your persona in that game tried to kill me. How is that anything different from the normal you?"

"Ouch, savage, bro," Takumi offhandedly commented.

Takeshi said nothing, standing in the background in some typically emo pose. Clearly, his talent had gone to shit now.

Nico interjected with his Moshirige voice, "Guys, come on! Don't leave me out like you did in game!"

Nico was also dressed in the same clothes he started off with us in, "Wow, do you change clothes?"

"What!? I didn't experience a growth spurt like some people!" he jokingly nudged Granberia, who had grown considerably, in more ways than should be mentioned.

Granberia blushed like mad, "W-what are you looking at!?" She covered herself with her arms. She was nearly as tall as me now, and she was definitely... more well-rounded. Er...

Looking around at all my friends reunited, I realized who was... missing. "Where's Shinju?"

All of them, who had been joking and laughing, silenced themselves really quick.

"You don't remember the time machine trip?" Misery asked, and I shook my head.

I answered, "No... I blacked out for that, I think."

Misery gulped before speaking up, "Well... Then I suppose I'll say it outright. Shinju was... She was writing a poem for famous actors and actresses, and one made a request of her. One Junko Enoshima. She spent time with her, and likely corrupted her. And after using her, she locked in on you, the most valuable Ultimate.

You know what happened next. Using Shinju's knowledge, she coerced her into sending the Grave Dangers to attack you and Jun. In her own jealous rage, she got Jun assaulted and murdered before your very eyes. To make you fall into despair, so she could finally have you. And when you learned of this..."

"I attacked and killed her?" I questioned their conclusion, fearing I was right. That's what Hajime and Misery had implied before, "Or was that a lie, too!?"

Misery responded, "Well, sort of. You tried to reform her and take the fall for yourself. You'd be killed as Despair and your seventeen friends would go free."

"That's not possible," Nico argued, "She was never with us. He sent the sixteen of us to an island alone. We never even saw her alive after we..."

Misery argued on that, "No, she was..." Misery reached for her eye and took out what seemed to be a contact. Her real eye was red, and when she undid the bandages covering her other eye and the rest of her black hair, I recognized her now.

"Misery is...Shinju!?" I was on the verge of passing out, now that the blood in my system was finally equally distributed. Living in pods is really bad for your health, kiddos.

Misery; no, Shinju closed in on me, "I... You spared me, reformed me with the simulations. And then you gave me a new name. You wanted me to live on and for you to be killed. Then I'd survive as Misery and have a chance at a normal life. After all that I'd done to you, you had gone so far to save me."

The video popped back into my mind, "My last words to you... I would show you my misery... And you took that name, hm?"

She nodded, not saying anything more on that matter.

"Then why reveal yourself?"

She clenched her fists, "Because I regret it. I regret what I did, that I lived... I was the one who confronted Shinju in your simulation. Accused her of manipulating her friends to kill."

"What!?" I gasped.

She carried on, " Revealing Nari's condition to Kaz and urging him to keep Hanako alive. Causing a murder, which pushed Takeshi to his own conclusion to win the game. Asked Mayu to search for you that night. Guilted Takumi into trying to die for you. And even subtly encouraging Kibou throughout the game to kill for Satoshi... It turns out her program had gone rogue. Her despair self had taken her over, and all along she was manipulating the others for her own goals. Of finally turning you to despair."

My brain put the pieces together, "And you changed the game to thwart her!"

Shinju nodded, "And in the end, that Shinju tried to sabotage our game. Killing Satoshi like that, I had to take drastic measures to push the game into overtime. I confronted her, and we fought. I won."

"So you killed her," I said it aloud to come to terms with it, "As I expected."

"I didn't have qualms about it. That Shinju was everything I despised about myself. Selfish; obsessive, trying to control you, the others... But now you have a choice to make, knowing the whole story," she warned me, "One of us has to die for Future Foundation to spare the rest of us. You kept us alive so far, but... Everyone here will die unless one of us dies."

Tojiko handed me the magnum from earlier, "Here... This is...Well..."

Shinju sighed, "We both classify as Despair, Shinji. And Future Foundation wants a body... You wanted me to live before, but now... You know the whole truth. And I'll let you choose. To live on with the others and to enjoy your life or... To spare me, again."

How could this happen to me? I'd made some mistakes, and had nowhere to run now. What could I possibly do?

Kenji urged me on, "Look, I know you're all sentimental and shit but... She's a serial murderer. Killed her parents, her friends, Jun, tortured us psychologically... I mean, I know you're forgiving, but come on, dude."

Granberia also offered, "And if you die, we lose you, again. Permanently."

"How can you guys forgive me?" I asked, looking down at the gun, "I was at fault, too."

"That game proved to us the truth about you," Shizue put a hand to my cheek, "How much you truly care... That was part of the reason we agreed to it. To gauge your true nature."

Takeshi, who had not spoken up before, strolled up to me, hand outstretched, "Come on, bitch! Get your shit together! Just kill her! She killed so many, the fuck should you die for her for!?"

I stepped back, "It's my choice, Takeshi."

"Fuck that, if you're too scared to do it, I'll-"

"I'm not scared," I cut him off, "I know what's at risk here." I aimed the gun at Shinju, "The things you've done... Sister."

She looked down at the ground in shame, "I know I'm destined for hell. So please... Kill me, and live on. This is the one time to be selfish, Shinji."

Everyone else kept quiet, either ashamed they couldn't defend or condemn her, or because they were thinking.

Koneko eventually broke the silence, "Do what your heart tells you to, Shinji. Disregard us for this; your future is yours to choose."

Shinju looked up at me and bid farewell, "It's okay, Shinji. I've accepted it. Besides... After all this, I've never stopped loving you. I went to such lengths before," she held her hands out, "I'm willing to die for you here," her tears hit the concrete floor between us, "I'll be watching over you, huh? Maybe then I can... make it up to you guys."

"Shinju..." Damn it, but getting her permission only made this even harder to do! I looked into the faces of each and every single one of my classmates, my friends, and silently confirmed to myself the future I wanted, the future I believed in.

I steadied my aim at Shinju, "Then I guess I don't have much choice, do I?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "Come on, off with this needless drama! It's an obvious choice to make."

"You're right..." I answered him, "No one'll judge me for this, right?"

The others nodded, "You have our word," Mayu held up her hand, "I swear my life on that."

I breathed one last time, trying to relieve the tension in my body, "Shinju..." I checked the magnum one last time to ensure that yes, there was one round loaded left, "I guess this is goodbye."

And without a second thought, I turned the gun on myself and pressed the trigger...

 **-Shinju's Final Free Time Event-**

Shinju awoke in a bed. She recognized it as the infirmary. Her head hurt, and when she put a hand to her neck, she winced from how sore it felt. What had happened to her...?

That was when someone familiar to her came in; Shinji Kizami, the long time love of her life. Of course, he was also the one who turned her down. But why was he here? And where was here? How did I know... this was an infirmary?

"One Shinju Sakyubasu. I've dulled your memories enough to strip the evil out of you, hopefully, but..." he sighed, "Well, to put it simply, Future Foundation is on its way."

"Who's that?" Shinju was frightened of that name, though she had no recollection as to why.

Shinji ignored her, "Anyways, take this," he handed her a bottle of black hair dye, and some bandages, "And this," And an eye contact, "Dye your hair. Cover your right eye and your face with bandages, and put the contact in the other."

Shinju gave him a confused expression, "What? Why would I?"

"Like I said, I altered your memories somewhat. It's nothing to be concerned with." he patted me on the head, the first time since middle school. I couldn't stop from breaking out into a pleased smile, though I tried, "Listen to me; your memories will come back bit by bit. You'll remember horrible, awful, monstrous things. But know that I've forgiven you, and I want you to live on. Take a new name, and never reveal your past to anyone, even if you know them, okay?"

She seemed overwhelmed by all this information, "Shinji... I, I don't get what you're-"

Shinji just laughed and shook his head, "You'll understand in time, okay? But if you really love me..." she tensed up when he said that, "You'll do as I say. Tell them that Shinju Sakyubasu is dead by my hands, and nothing else. Understood?"

Reluctantly, Shinju nodded. She never understood the relevance of this, not until she was two months into the role of Misery, overwatching Tojiko's simulations on Shinji.

She never understood why he'd spared her; the murderer responsible for Jun's untimely demise. Honestly, she probably would have killed her in his place.

But that's probably why she fell in love with him. He was unusually kind, even to scum like her...

That was why, when the choice for him was to kill her or himself, she didn't scream out in shock or horror like the others when he stopped aiming the gun at her, and pointed it at himself.

And in that moment, a single ding was heard as the final Hope Fragment was finally gathered from the depths of Shinju's heart. And with that, she wished for a miracle.

The loudest bang she ever heard emanated from that magnum, and she just closed her eyes as the round pinged off of something metal and Shinji's body slammed onto the ground.


	38. Epilogue: The Remnants of Hope

**Epilogue-The Remnants of Hope**

 **-Shinju's POV-**

What is it about waking up in this place with a headache every damn time...? Then again, nightmares'll do that to you. Especially the remembering the looks on your parents' faces as you hacked them to bits stuff, but hey, my friends aren't dead...

Was there a lack of oxygen in this room or was I hyperventilating again? I'm too woozy to tell. I stumble out of bed face first into the floor, only for a commandeering voice to pick my spirits up, "Everyone, the Foundation has finally arrived. Soon some of us will part, so everyone kindly enter the meeting room in the sixth area for further discussion."

Hajime's normal voice coming through the loudspeakers soothed my mind. Everything we had been through was overwhelming, eventful, despair-inducing. But Despair had lost...

It's hard to place into words how it feels to discover you were once Despair. Every time you look down at your hands, it feels as if coated in a thick lining of blood at any time, how many you've slain for your own despair desires.

Killing Daisuke's sister, murdering countless members of my own class, betraying my friends and country, all for the selfish desire of enslaving my own brother to my dark whims... God, how could you come back from that?

Maybe this was Shinji's revenge for what I'd done; forcing me to live with my mistakes, letting me off scot free only to suffer the anguish of understanding my crimes. Then again, I couldn't ask him now.

With great hesitation to face the others again, I walked to the door of my cottage, opening it and stepping out into the blinding sun.

Outside, a familiar face greeted me with a knowing smirk, "Sup, Shinju? You feelin' any better?"

I shook my head, "No, not really. Thanks for caring, I guess." I didn't know what to say to this guy.

Takumi just shrugged it off, "Eh, no worries. Shinji forgave you, so why not me, too, huh? Bros and hoes and all that good shit."

"Is there a reason you're wasting your time with me, or is it just courtesy?"

"Oh, come now," Takumi laughed, "I don't do handouts. I'm not some shit teacher."

What was he on about this time? "Then why bother with me?"

Takumi shook his head, "Nari's right, you are dumb," he opened up his jacket, "Check this shit out!"

He was wearing a shirt, similar to the one he came here with. On it was not Sayaka but Shinju in her bathing suit, with the tagline; Bad girls play hard.

"That's right! I'm modeling a brand new line of Despair Girl merchandise! We've got all the ultimate Despairs up in here," he smirked, thinking this was some great new fashion, "Of course, Junko's always been a bestseller, but now we've got shirts based off of you, that princess, awe, it's great!"

A single bead of sweat dripped down the side of my face, "You've got to be kidding me..."

Takumi nodded, "No way, hombre! You won't believe the legions of dudes that wanna fuck someone as crazy as you," he chuckled to himself, "I'd know."

Okay, no. "That's just disturbing..." I walked past him, "Don't fuck around too much. We have a meeting to get to."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, mom. Hey, if I call you mommy, will you-"

"Fuck no." I shuddered at the thought of what he would want me to do.

Takumi laughed, scratching the back of his head, "Alright, alright. Besides, my girl's waitin' on me. She lived, you know? I...plan to ask her out."

Right, that one chick, "Have fun with Asuna, I guess."

"Hey, you're always welcome to join us if you decide to leave. I can even call you sis if yo-" And with that, Takumi was dropped in a single hit.

As he groaned and covered his groin, I left with a smirk, "See you later, Adachi."

I guess some people really don't change that much over time, but still, would it kill him to grow up? ...Should have worded that better.

I headed to the supermarket, and in the medicine aisle, grabbed a container of pain pills before downing the allotted dose. Hopefully, that would get rid of my headache.

A finger poked my back, and I jumped back into whoever it was in surprise. We crashed to the floor, but she caught me deftly, "Falling for me, huh?"

Koneko grinned at me even after delivering such an awful pun, "Why'd you go and scare me!?" I jumped up off of her lap and dust my skirt, "You know how silent you are!"

She waved her fingers at me, "They are quiet, aren't they? Kenta was awful, but he was real good at what he does."

I held out my hand, which she took, and I dragged her to her feet, "Spying on me?"

"You could say that," Koneko refused to be open about it, "Just making sure you're alright. I don't know about the others, but I won't hold anything against you."

"Of course you'd say that," I snickered, "Too nice for your own good..." We stepped out into the sunlight, and I gazed up at the empty expanse that was the blue sky, "I wanted to inspire others to be great, you know? With my poetry. Guess I still managed it, in some sick twisted way..."

Koneko patted me on the head, "No worries, Shinju. You can still do that."

I denied that claim, "As if. I don't deserve to dream anymore."

"That's not true!" she grabbed my head and forced me to look her in the eye, "That's not why Shinji sacrificed himself! For you to give up!"

"That's not..." I wrangled myself out of her grasp, "Koneko, let me just be honest here. I wanted to be someone who inspired others, and instead I became someone who dragged others down."

Koneko acknowledged that, "But you can change! You can still become what you want!"

"Who we want to be... and who we become... They're not the same. They're as different as night and day," I headed up to the stairway leading from the beach to the first area, "I should just... fade away."

Koneko's ears folded, and her tail sunk to the ground in defeat as I scaled those stone steps.

Why did it have to be me to fall into Despair? Why wasn't I stronger? Why couldn't I just accept his feelings instead of being weak...?

When I reached the top of the stairs, Yoshikazu greeted me with a bow, "Greetings, Mistress Sakyubasu."

"Enough of that..." I shuffled past him, "You don't need to address me so formally..."

Yoshikazu smiled, "Ah, understood, Shinju. I came to report to you that I have done the laundry once more. Today will possibly be our last meeting for a long while, so I wanted to say goodbye to you."

I shrugged, "Save it for the meeting, Kaz. Don't waste your breath."

"I have not overworked myself recently, thank you very much," he criticized me, "Something you have been doing yourself. What are you spending all that time in the sixth area for?"

"Repenting," I worded it carefully, "Through hardship. It's nothing to be concerned of."

Akihiko surprised me with a firm hand on my shoulder, "Hey, no funny business. I'm still observing you while I'm here, Sakyubasu."

Oh great, the officer is here, "I get it, Tanaka. I'll stay in line."

He just laughed, "God, you're so serious now. Don't you remember how to laugh? Or did you forget that when you-" Yoshikazu nervously glanced at him, shutting him up, "Seriously, lighten up. Brooding over this won't do you any damn good."

"I, I'll try," I gave in, rather than argue. I'd never win. How could they possibly, ever understand what I felt? How awful it was, every waking moment... I wanted to kill myself, but that wouldn't do... Shinji'd never forgive me, and he was all I had left...

"What are you crying for?" Aki asked, ripping me from my darkened thoughts.

I wiped the tears that had fallen down to my cheeks, surprised I had just started crying like that, "Oh, nothing... I'm just being extra emotional today, girl things. I'll excuse myself, for now..."

I walked away from them, but could still overhear part of their conversation.

"She's really dead inside, isn't she?" Aki asked his companion.

Kaz replied, "It seems it's worse than we had anticipated. Her guilt is enormous; would it be safe for us to leave her here like this?"

Aki sighed, "Well, we can't play babysitter. The world needs us right now."

I tuned out to the rest. Today was their final day being here. Future Foundation was recruiting some of them today; others were leaving of their own volition elsewhere. And I was remaining behind; alone.

I headed to the cafe to get myself a drink before I made the only stop I'd make on the way to the final area. Inside the cafe, I was greeted very oddly.

Nari and Emiko were both sipping their own milkshakes when I waltzed in, and Emiko immediately jumped on my arrival as reason to probe my mind, "Shinju, wait up!" She ran up to me, a pen and notebook in hand, "Can you tell me what your thought process is like as Despair? If I could get specifics, I could find a way to mentally reverse the process. In case, you know, this happens again."

Nari rolled her eyes, "Could you oblige her? She keeps asking me to seduce you, get you drunk, and then send you off to her for info. I'd rather seduce you for the right reason." She winked after saying that, but of course, I brushed it off.

Emiko ignored her best friend selling her out, "Seriously! I've been asked to help reform some kids who have been... warped by despair like you. Junko's influence and all that. So your data would be incalculably valuable to me and my efforts."

I ignored her, walking over and making myself a milkshake. I finally answered her after much continued prodding and begging, "Fine, fine. It's..." I noticed my reflection in the mirror, and my eyes had finally returned to their green hue, "Like a bad phone connection. Everything is muffled, and only the negative stuff manages to get through."

Nari noticed it was nearly noon, "Wow, it's already that late? Emiko, we need to hurry to the meeting room."

Emiko frowned and stomped her feet as she placed the pen in her notebook ring and folded it into her pocket, "Darn it, alright." The two of them stepped out, leaving me in peace.

Not that it lasted long. "Fuckin' bitch," Takeshi was in the doorway, "I'm not thirsty anymore..." He stormed out.

Takeshi took Shinji's death exceptionally hard. He was the only person Takeshi ever opened up to, and he blamed me for taking that away from him. 'Out of all of us here, it should have been you'. Those were his exact words.

Finishing my drink, I headed out of the lounge and bumped into a keyblade-wielding Nico and Shizue, "Oh, hey, Shinju." Nico greeted me pretty casually, all things considered.

"So quick to trust, aren't you?" I teased him, just a little bit, "I'm a monster. Doesn't your genre awareness tell you to stay away from me...?"

"Nah, it's too late game for major plot twists," he assured me, "We can't get sequel baited here. I'm certain of that."

Shizue gave him a confused, disappointed look, "Okay, ignore the Kingdom trash here. He said he wanted to try to cheer you up."

Nico glared at her, "This is why I don't bring you with me everywhere," he said in that same overly nasal voice of his, "This is why I run alone!"

"I'm... going to see him," I confessed, "I'll be late to the meeting, probably, but... No one would miss me."

As I walked past the two of them, I heard Nico whisper, "That's not true... I would."

Shizue elbowed him in the side, "Enough with the damn quotes, alright? Got _that_ memorized?"

I walked past the arcade, only to be interrupted once more, "Hey, if it isn't the dirty traitor..."

Kenji addressed me from atop the arcade, his glasses shining so brightly due to the reflected sunlight that it blinded me, "I always suspected you. Even my virtual avatar knew you were the mastermind!"

"Kenji, don't bully her!"

"Wah!?" Kenji didn't expect for Hanako to be behind him let alone on the rooftop, and he fell off before crashing into the ground next to me.

I tried to help him up, but he refused my aid, "No thanks, madwoman. I'm not next to die for you, alright?"

Hanako jumped down from the rooftop and bopped him over the head, "No, bad Kenji!"

Kenji squeaked out in pain, "Ow! Mercy, mercy!"

Hanako chased him off before glancing back, "Sorry about him. He's always like this." She ran off after him.

Shaking my head, I continued on my way. Once I made it to the bathroom area near the park, I noticed a couple sleeping on a nearby bench. Satoshi must have been working overnight again, and he had collapsed onto the bench.

Kibou had placed him on her lap, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he slumbered peacefully. She excitedly waved to me, but I reminded her to be quiet for him. With that, I managed to get away from them without a single word between us.

I was thankful, as Kibou was morbidly curious of me; asking how I killed my victims, how it felt, what techniques I used, if it turned me on... The list went on and on, mostly because she was dedicated to writing a book of events that occurred; a True Stories to Keep You Up at Night kind of book.

I featured in some of them, even. She assured me she'd change my name, but with Takumi's god damn shirt line, I felt it was a waste of her efforts.

The park was beautiful right now, the sakura trees coating the entire area in pink leaves. On the park bench, Mayumi and Daisuke were tending to the now full-grown Panterbell, who had thankfully been taken care of by my sister during the simulation.

Neither of them noticed me sneak by them, though considering who they were, I was certain they knew. Rather, they let me go by in secret as I wished.

The forest. I found my way through the cave, stumbling to the other side and gazing out at the forest. Gathering up my courage, I headed into that maze. The trees had all bloomed here as well, covering me in shade and leaves as I strolled through the park.

I always felt as if I was being watched in this place, and that same eerie feeling crept over me like a darkened shadow.

Still, I knew it was nothing more than my imagination acting up again. Only he and I were in this forest.

I made it to the center and slowly approached him. A single rock, a tombstone, marked the center of this quiet little pocket of mowed grass. Shinji Kizami; the Ultimate Romantic. Sacrificed himself for a future worth saving.

I'd love to tell you guys he missed, or the bullet didn't kill him, or it was unloaded, or that the hope fragments we had gathered miraculously saved him through some inane plot device. This wasn't a fairy tale or an anime like Clannad, though, and he was dead.

When we buried him... it broke my heart to see he had a smile on his face. He left this world on his own terms, and that just scarred me so much deeper. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small capsule I'd stolen from the pharmacy earlier.

If I just took this... I could be reunited with him, in theory. I held the capsule up to my eyes; the label identifying it as CN-.

I'd said I'd stay alive for his sake, and I had one last thing to do, but my depression had hit an all time-high, and the only thing my mind was telling me to do right now was to stop the pain...

I slowly unscrewed the top of it and gulped before leaning my head back and lifting my other hand to drink it. This would be how it ends for Misery, huh?

But I felt my other hand was weightless now, and when I opened my eyes, Granberia was tossing the bottle, recapped and all, in between her hands, "Cyanide huh? Is this what happiness is nowadays?"

"Give it back," I held out my hand and ordered, "Now!"

"So you can take the easy way out? So you can waste Shinji's sacrifice?" She was harsh and unforgiving as ever, huh?

I argued, "I never wanted him to-"

Granberia interjected, "Then you should have killed yourself with that gun," she reprimanded me, "But you didn't. You don't get to tap out now just because it hurts!"

"How dare you..." I took a step forward, my anger rising, "You're such a bitch, you know that!? How do you know any of what I feel!?"

She looked up at me, and her eyes said 'You're not special'. "You think I'm fine?" she put the bottle in her pocket, "That Koneko hasn't told me that Nari cries into her pillow every night they're together!? That after all this, we had to lose Shinji, too!? What, you think because you loved him first, that only your feelings matter!?"

"N-no, I didn't-"

"You always wanted to be number one to him, always felt he should love you more than everyone else," she spat in my direction, "You drove him to death with that bullshit. The others might forgive you, but I'm not."

She stomped up to me and slapped me to the ground, "Fuck your love. Fuck your wanting to be number one. Fuck your entitled bullshit. And fuck you," she wasn't yelling, stating each part without any emotion, "You never should have been born..." Granberia left me in the woods alone with dark thoughts as she abandoned me to my own mental prison.

She's right... I knew that.

I don't know if it was hours or more, but eventually I got myself up off that forest floor and exited the forest. I bid Shinji goodbye once and for all before I left his grave and headed to the sixth area.

The lights were on in the meeting room, suggesting that everyone had gathered. I had other ideas in mind.

I took a left and entered into a room mostly secret to them. And in the center of the room was the time machine I'd spent the last months on as Misery. It wasn't yet functional when the final simulation started, and even when Hajime offered to help me finish it, he had warned me; I can't undo Junko's work, or the universe might cease to be.

I couldn't disturb the timeline or stop myself from tricking Shinji into falling into despair.

With the magnum Shinji had left behind, which I had reloaded, I opened up the machine and set the timer. The day we first arrived at this resort, two and a half years ago or so... The world was falling into pieces by this time, unbeknownst to us.

I stepped inside the machine and hit the button. The pod door closed in on me and my eyelids grew heavy as the machine whirred into motion. I had no idea if it'd actually work or not, but I had hope.

The last thing I remember before falling asleep was a bright flash of light.

 **Monokuma Theater Final#**

Monokuma appeared once more on that fateful stage, a sinister smirk on his face, "Why am I here!? Is that what you're asking? God, how boring! But I suppose I'll explain!"

"There are many theories behind human beings, how they function, and their role in the universe. However, an intriguing one that comes to mind is a version of multiverse theory," Monokuma began explaining, "Let's say the future is a series of branches. Each branch represents an individual choice. This means the present is built upon hundreds and hundreds of branches made by everyone prior, riiiight?"

The audience nodded in understanding, "So for every choice there ever is, you may wonder about the opposite. If I had done my homework, would my dad have left my mom? If I had gotten that job interview, would my wife not have cheated with my own father? If I supported my son's hobby, would he have killed himself?

You get the picture, right? We always second-guess ourselves and wonder what _could_ have been. So some say that each choice is a different universe. So every single choice you've ever made led to one universe or another, and the one you're in now is dynamic and always differentiating from others because of every choice someone makes. Cool, right?

So this story may seem to have a sad ending because Shinji chose to kill himself, but imagine that there's another universe where Shinji did choose to kill Shinju and think. Would he really be happier for it? Would that have been a happier ending, or would it have only led to despair?

As for me, I'm from that world! And as you can tell by me being here... Well, it didn't work out for Makoto in this world, either, upupupupu! In fact, Junko's successor managed to recover Shinji into despair and caused a whole second collapse of society! Fun, right? So by sparing Shinju, he saved the world!"

The curtain closed on the laughing, psychotic bear one last time, as the sun set on an alternate world. One that witnessed Shinji rise again as Despair, and lash out against the world itself. A world of tragedy and loss...

A world that refused to die with a whimper.

 **-Shinju's POV-**

I was disturbed by the sound of the door opening, and my body felt unnaturally heavy. Sluggish and slow, I managed to struggle to my feet before falling out onto the cold, hard floor. The lights were off, but I was in the same building.

This would be World 2, the one where she would kill herself and spare the others from Despair. Shinji would keep the others safe until Future Foundation came to save them, and they'd live on in happiness and peace.

This was where I'd repay his favor to me.

All along, this time machine had been a red herring; a distraction meant to keep us off the scent of the real story, the real plot twists. Turns out it was actually Chekhov's Gun, where anything mentioned, no matter how seemingly unimportant, was meant to be used.

I felt the magnum in my pocket and pulled it out before spinning it. I had fully reloaded it. Originally, I considered trying to talk myself down. However, after experiencing the limits of my insane younger self, I ruled out that idea during the simulation.

If Shinji had chosen to kill me, we'd have ended it there. But since he sacrificed himself, I had prepped this. I would save his life and kill myself here. Then I'd destroy the time machine, to ensure he could never undo my work.

To that end, I headed over to a nearby table, where the prototype and its schematics were carefully laid out. I pulled out a lighter and burned them, before stripping the prototype apart. This wouldn't be enough, so I headed to the main chamber. The building was made of multiple detachable rooms, and I set it to detach the building where the machine had been into the waters below.

It would be lost forever, along with my own. I pressed the button, and the alert notified me it would take ten minutes to prepare before asking for confirmation.

The first day we got here, I led Shinji away from the others to explain the social experiments we would be engaging in. Of course, I lied to him at the time.

I would take advantage of that meeting and confront myself.

After traversing down sets of stairs to the second area, I glanced over the large cliffside where Takeshi once hung. I observed Shinji being led on through the cave into the forest, and made my move.

Leaping down off of the side, I crashed hard on the cold stone tiles before running towards the gate leading to the first area. Taking a leap of faith over the side, I sped down the stairs through the first area at full speed, hoping I'd not be spotted. Once I reached the park, I snuck into the cave quietly so as not to alert them.

The meeting place we chose was of personal value to me now. They met in the same clearing where Shinji would be buried, if I let this story take its path.

"And we'll just have fun in the simulations for a bit, instead. That's fine with you, right?" My past self pleaded with him with puppy dog eyes.

Shinji shook his head, "I guess it won't hurt; this program is safe, right? You're not tricking me into something weird again, are you?"

Past Shinju assured him, "Oh, no worries, it's just a small experiment Hope's Peak asked us to do, nothing dangerous or harmful."

"Lying whore..." I stepped out from the shadows, glaring at my former self. Red hair, red eyes, a sinister smirk, everything I hated about that smug cunt, "Why don't you tell him the truth, Sakyubasu? That you're intending to run killing game simulations on them?"

"What? No way... And who the fuck are you?" She glared at me hatefully.

I ignored her, "I don't know. Shinju Kizami, who am I?"

"Why'd she call you...?" Shinji was confused, but he was also paying attention.

"Oh, she didn't tell you yet? You're siblings, twins... Isn't it fucked she crushed on you like that? Back in middle school, when she confessed to you..."

Shinji's eyes opened wide as the memories came back to him in pieces, "I... I do remember something... Happening..."

Past Shinju pulled a knife out from her pocket, "Stop confusing him with your lies, bitch!" She ran towards me like that, but I dodged her with ease, "Son of-"

I grabbed her by her hair and threw her back before kicking the knife out of her hands. When it fell to the side, I picked it up and cut through her shirt, making her bleed, "Going to tell him how you killed your own parents, huh? Ultimate Despair... You joined a terrorist organization to force him to love you!"

"Shinju would never-" Shinji came to her defense.

"Save it," I silenced him, "I know what she did, because I AM her. And she watched Jun get murdered, get... Violated... For her own sick amusement."

Shinji took a step towards me, "How do you know that!? I've never told anyone!"

I walked up to him and pushed him out of my way, "I was there, dumbass. Shinju was the one who had it done. You'd have to love her, then. Grave Dangers made sure to crush your heart, didn't they? And then you killed 'em all in front of some poor scared girl. And you recognize her here, too. Granberia."

I withdrew my magnum and aimed it at myself, "I know the risks. If multiverse theory is wrong, the world ends. If I do this, it won't fix my timeline. It won't undo my hateful acts. But if I can save Shinji's life here and now... I'll gladly kill myself."

My past self smirked before lunging on me with such speed and ferocity I couldn't stop her. She whipped me back before grabbing my throat and she began to choke me, "Oh, these neck lines..." she knocked the gun away from me, "You've done this before, huh? Kinky bitch..."

I threw a right at her, staggering her. She quickly lunged again, and I ducked under her reaching for the gun. She grabbed my leg and dragged me away from it.

I turned and kicked out into her chest, knocking her back. I rose to my feet just in time for her counter attack, her nails shredding through my shoulder, sending blood splattering over my clothes and hers.

"I didn't know I'd become such a weak bitch..." Shinju grinned, sickly, at me, "So the future me wants to stop this now, huh? It's a shame my story would end like this, but... It fills me with delicious Despair!" Her red eyes glowed even more ferociously than ever before.

I decided to be honest with her, too, "Shinji dies because of you," that made her hesitate, "He killed himself to save you... Isn't that awful? You went through all that trouble, and he dies anyway..."

Shinji was looking on in horror, confusion, and many other mixed emotions, but he wouldn't factor here. This was between myself and... me?

Shinju broke into a devilish grin, "That's great! I can feel the Despair empowering me, even now! Why don't we skip to the ending, then!?"

She lunged for Shinji, who just barely dodged. Shinju followed after him, but I grabbed her arm and threw her into a nearby tree.

"Like hell you will!"

"No, it's perfect... Watching him die twice will enthrall you with despair again! Then we'll reach our true potential!" She lunged for Shinji again, but I tackled her into another tree, slamming her against the hard and aging trunk.

Shinju was stronger than me, and she overpowered me after grappling for a fateful few seconds. Knowing I was fighting a losing battle, I yelled back to Shinji, "Get out of here, now! Get the others... Now!"

With one final show of strength, she knocked me back and slammed me into the ground. I felt cold blood running from my injured head, and she smirked at my helpless state as she wrapped her hands around my throat again, "I'll choke you to death and make him watch... That'll show him true despair!"

I struggled against her iron grip, but every time I hit her, she choked me harder. I was kicking out, desperately fighting for my own freedom. I wanted to die, but like this? In front of Shinji, of all people? Was fate laughing at this poor miserable girl one last time...?

Shinju stuck her tongue out of her mouth, "This is... so amazing, this feeling... I could get used to this. Such despai-"

BANG!

Shinju looked up at Shinji with an incredulous look on her face, as if she couldn't believe it. He had fired a bullet straight through her chest, and she was bleeding profusely now, "You... Shinji..."

"Get off of her!" Shinji kicked her in the teeth, knocking her off of me before shooting her twice more, in the stomach and arm, "Get away from her!"

"You..." I could barely speak as he lifted me to my feet, gun still drawn on her.

Shinju, bleeding out of her mouth now, just smiled up at us, "What despair... Being killed by Shinji..."

Her breathing stopped, and to make sure, I stole the magnum from Shinji and blasted her right in the forehead.

With Shinju, my past self bleeding onto the grass, I said with some hesitation, "Hey, the world didn't end. That's a good sign," Was that a joke or an observation? I couldn't tell myself...

Shinji walked over to her and closed her eyelids for her. He silently thought to himself, likely sending her a farewell. Then he stood up and asked, "So is it really you, Shinju? A you from the future?"

"Yeah..." I thought about what I should say, how I should say it. Eventually, I settled on my words to him, "I come from a future, where... Where you suffered greatly, more than imaginable. Because of... me. Or rather, her," I glared at her corpse one last time, "But in the end, you killed yourself rather than kill me, and I..."

"You'd rather it have been you, right?" he said it so easily, it was almost like he was mocking me, "That sounds like me... I probably wouldn't have shot her if she was attacking me like that, but..."

I was half tempted to smack him, "You... you idiot..." I found myself crying again, "Don't you ever learn?"

"I found them!" The two of us were surprised by Koneko's appearance. She had removed her hood, and had likely tracked us down by sniffing us out, "What happened...here?"

The sight of Shinju's corpse took the breath out of her mouth. Since I was holding the gun now, her suspicion fell on me. "Calm down, Koneko Sakai. Tamer and friend to Tanaka, the Forbidden One. The Ultimate Poet here, and this is... Well, it's a long story."

And a long story it was, as I was forced to explain the whole truth to the remaining seventeen students.

When I finally finished the story, Shinji asked, "That's... Well, it sounds crazy, but if you're here... If you have all that information..."

Koneko nodded, "I trust her," she defended me, even after such a horrible story, "How could anyone make that up? What kind of, of imagination or sick mind could do that?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah, yeah. So, Shinju. What do you intend to do now? It sounds like your world's... Well, it's fine without you. And you don't seem too enthused about going back."

"Stay here," Mayu offered, "I mean, considering how far you went for us, I think we could find it in ourselves to forgive you... I mean, not that you'd done anything to us yet."

I shook my head, "A kind offer, but I'll refuse. When Future Foundation arrives in a couple of years, my presence would complicate things. The rest of you, though... Live on, be happy for me..." I walked over to Shinji and bopped him on the head, "You especially, dumbass. No excuses."

He looked up into my eyes and promised, "I will, Shinju. I won't waste your sacrifice here for us."

Damnit, but after all this time his reassuring smile made my heart flutter. Damn this sentimental person I am... We really ARE related, huh?

I stayed strong, though, "Yeah, you better not. I have to go back to my own time now..."

"Then, is this goodbye?" Nari asked, "We'll never see you again?"

I nodded, "Yeah, this world of yours... The future is yours, now. I may not have fixed my own world, but knowing you guys are happy, that you're safe... It fills my heart with the determination to keep going. So live it up for me."

And with that, I bid them farewell. I eventually made my way back to the sixth area, where the central computer asked for me to confirm or deny the detachment. I'd have to move my time machine first if I really wanted to go back...

I lumbered up to that room and slowly dragged it out. It wasn't impossibly heavy, thanks to its makeup of incredibly resilient plastics and metals, but it was still a bitch and a half.

Finally, I dragged it back to the central room, my back aching and my hands sweaty and pink from the intense work of getting the damned machine in here.

"There you are," I heard a familiar voice, but it was not the same as its original owner.

When I about faced, I saw a Shinji, another him, with red eyes, several scars marking his face, and wearing a dirtied green jacket and a shirt with copious amounts of bloodstains in it. It had stitches all over it, implying most, if not all of the blood was his.

I clammed up the second I saw him, and he began to explain, "You're not the only one with a time machine, you know?"

"So who are you?" I reached into my pocket for the magnum, fearful for my life, "Despair, are you? Here to ruin the timeline again!?"

Shinji shook his head, "I'm here for you."

Never before had I ever felt more frightened. I took a step back and looked at the machine behind me. It'd never turn on fast enough for me to escape him. He decided to approach me with a devilish grin, and I felt rooted to the spot.

Granberia grumbled to herself as she and the others left the meeting room. _Who cared about that grubby bitch? But noooo, Koneko insisted we had to go find her. Whatever, like I care._

 _Or at least, I thought at first. Then again, she had been considering suicide. Had I been too harsh with her? No, no, she needed to hear it... Didn't she? I mean, she intended to live a life of literal Misery already and I..._

 _Maybe I had gone too far, but still, it's how I honestly felt. We were all hurting._

Eventually, after searching thoroughly through every area, the sixteen classmates all met back up at the entrance of the sixth area, "Any sign of her?"

Granberia shook her head, "Does it look like I found her?" she sighed, "Damn it, where could she have gone?"

That was when I made my fateful appearance, "Oh, the past, maybe."

The others seemed surprised by my appearance, but when they saw Shinji standing next to me, with red eyes and a stack of folders under his right arm, they all fell speechless, "Considering the air in here, I thought you all might be happier to see me."

Granberia was one of the first to run towards him arms outstretched, but he jumped back the second she almost reached him, "Wha...? Shinji?"

Instead of answering her verbally, he distributed the fifteen folders to everyone but Nico.

"Why don't I get one?" Nico asked, feeling left out.

"I'm from an alternate timeline. For your sakes, let's call it timeline zero," Shinji began to explain himself, "I made the choice to kill Shinju."

Nico observed, "But then why the red eyes, as reminiscent of despair?"

Shinji looked to the ground, ashamed, "Well, the truth is... I deliberated on my decision for so long... By the time I made my choice, Granberia tried to steal the gun away from me. In the struggle, I shot her, and she..."

Well, that's dark.

"Future Foundation came soon after, when I was asleep in the infirmary. I had passed out from the shock. And when I came to, they had killed..." he hesitated to finish that sentence, "I slaughtered them all. Future Foundation, the survivors... Not a single one escaped my wrath."

I glared at Granberia, "You got us all killed in the supposed happier ending. Then again, once a traitor..."

"Who the hell are you to talk about-" Granberia fought back.

Shinji silenced her, "Don't argue just yet. Open that folder now," when she tried to refuse, he reinforced his statement, "Quit bein' a stuck up cunt and read the damn thing..."

And with reluctance, each of them did so. Every one of them must have felt their blood run cold, their eyes opening wide. Inside were documents gathered by Shinji over his time traveling through alternate pasts and futures.

"Every single one of us here... In a world where Shinju didn't turn to Despair, we went to Hope's Peak as planned. And our upperclassman, Junko, she... She warped every one of us. We all fell into despair and killed our friends and family. We slaughtered our own loved ones and took pictures, trophies of it," Shinji explained, "Except for Nico, who eventually was the one to kill her while wielding a sword and yelling on about heart light dark hearts."

None of them could argue with the brutal evidence handed to them, I elaborated on the revelation, "He used the time machine to try and save us. He interrupted Junko's corruption of me, and what he found in that future was... That each and every one of us was not only capable of the same cruelty, but that we even betrayed each other for our own enjoyment..."

"Now, to summarize..." he listed off what he thought, "I've suffered through multiple timelines watching you all die over and over again. Every single person here, excluding Nico, resorted to cruel, fucked up, and unforgivable crimes as Despair, meaning no one here is better than that," he pointed at Granberia, "So get off your fuckin' high horse..." and then at Takumi, "Stop with that damned shirt line." and finally, at me, "And stop killing yourself over this already..."

He stepped into the center of the group, "That being said, Shinju here created a future without her. Killed herself when you guys first got here to save every one of you, ungrateful or not," he rubbed his nose, "Didn't even stay behind to ensure we survived. So I thought hey, why not come to her future? It's the second least fucked, and I thought you all might like to have me back. Not the exact same me, but... Pretty close enough, I'd say."

"But why am I immune?" Nico asked, confused.

Shinji shrugged, "Your audience, probably. They supported you through thick and thin. Guess that foundation you had with them saved your life."

Nico teared up, "I'm so proud of them..."

And this fateful, painful, day came to an end, once and for all...

The next day...

The eighteen of us, my sister, and Hajime all gathered when the Foundation arrived. Due to major shake ups in the command of the branches, they were desperate. Calling us the Remnants of Hope, left to battle the Despair left in the world with the survivors of the Final Killing Game.

"So, who's leaving?" Hajime was dressed in a Future Foundation suit once more, "Certainly, everyone here has decided?"

"Yes, we have," Satoshi smiled.

And that is how the 79th class of Hope's Peak broke up to save the world.

Satoshi headed the administration of Future Foundation, reconfiguring their systems from the inside out and retraining all of their forces to be aware of the chain of command but also know certain exceptions to those rules. Don't be a Juzo, he warned. No unnecessary violence.

Kibou married him soon after, and began producing her scary true stories series to the world's delight; for some, it haunted their nightmares. For others, they resonated in and confided their own survival stories with thousands of others through this medium on forums and image boards on the newly recreated Internet.

Yoshikazu served faithfully at Satoshi's side, helpful and ever protective of him. Several assassination attempts were made on his life, but Kaz always made them regret their life choices.

At his side was Daisuke, who used his powers to embolden Future Foundation, to encourage them and to support them from the sidelines as he found himself a new life with Kaz. Daisuke was seen by many as a prime example of the contributions that LGBT people contributed to, even to saving a world that largely shut them out for one reason or another.

Hanako grew out of her shell and soon became one of the most popular of the group's new 15th Branch of Future Foundation. She was considered a 'precious cinnamon roll too good for this world' to her huge fandom, though she was just being the same kind person she always was.

Kenji's full time job became protecting her from stalkers and arguing with other people online, and busting people for rule 34'ing his wife, though no suspects were ever found without serious burn scars, if they were found at all. Not that Kenji meant to do it; or so he claimed.

Despite his oddities, Hanako remained at his side, supporting him in his own endeavors to become a writer himself.

Nico returned to his quiet life making youtube videos for his fanbase, who had united under one mysterious commenter, Blue Flare, to survive the war on despair. Zvarri, but they did well to survive the apocalypse together by building a boat shaped like a penguin and sailing it to safety.

Emiko used her newfound knowledge to publish documents finally proving how Despair was formed in someone, and her many theories on how it played on one's insecurities and desires. She managed to publish a quickly verified paper on how to treat Despair, and how to prevent it through empowering one's self, instilling confidence, and avoiding 'crazy bitches'.

Takeshi reopened the orphanage he grew up in in his childhood, and he started many outreach programs for troubled youth in this scarred new world. He never lost his savage edge, though, and the only complaints anyone had about the children he cared for through his programs was their foul mouth, which they claimed was an allergy to bullshit.

Takumi found himself a more stable job as a model once things began to die down. He also confessed to his long time friend Asuna, and the two were married, despite his bachelor party nearly ruining his life the night before. Rumors say it was a hangover for the ages...

Akihiko became the head of security at a reopened Hope's Peak Academy, and was given full authority to keep the peace, whether it meant overthrowing the trustee board for sick experiments or executing psychopathic members of the student body, reserve course or not.

Hajime went back to Jabberwock Island to be with his classmates, even though he said it was quite boring with nothing to do on a mostly abandoned resort island.

And what about the others? Well...

Shinji shook his head, "Okay, what happened here?"

He was standing in the doorway to my room, and Nari was staring back at him, topless, with Koneko's tail peeking out from under the covers as she wriggled on the bed, doing whatever she was doing under there.

I was clothed in just my lingerie, and snarkily replied, "Having a girl's night out, what do you think? Couldn't you knock first?"

"The door was wide open," he glared at Nari, "You and your exhibition kink, damn it!"

Mayu scared him when she asked, "Is this not preferable for you, husband?"

Shinji jumped over the bed and crashed onto the carpeted floor before peeking up from the other side, "Would you stop scaring me like that!? And we're not married!"

Mayu walked up to him and held his head in her hands, "Wouldn't you, though? Besides, you have to take responsibility for us now..." She let her robe slip off, revealing her bare body.

Holding back any thoughts that tried to get him to succumb to such weakness, he shook his head, "Can someone help me out here...?"

Shizue, who appeared at the doorway, laughed at his predicament, "Oh, look what we have here. A manwhore in his natural environment!"

"Shizue, now's not the time for jokes. Can you get these girls off me?"

Shizue walked into the room before sighing, "I suppose I should save you. I'll help you get them off."

Nari high fived her, "Great pun, my friend. I've taught you well..."

"You know what, you can just suck a thousand dicks," Shinji deadpanned to Nari.

Nari shrugged it off as she was wont to do, "Good advice. Why not start now?"

Granberia snuck up behind Shinji and stated in her same, normal tone, "Get on the bed, princess."

Shinji, realizing how outnumbered he was, screamed before jumping out the nearest window, shattering the glass and groaning in pain as he hit the cold ground. Dramatic exit much?

That night, I was sitting on the cliffside when Shinji walked up beside me and sat down, "So, how're you doing?" he asked, "I mean, I know you can't just get over what you did, but... Well, the others have finally forgiven you."

"Yeah... Granberia apologized to me about it. Said she was out of line," I nodded to myself, "I'm surprised that they managed to work through this with me... I..."

"As I expected, you're precious to them, too," he sighed in relief, "I mean, they love me, but they've grown to love each other, too. It's kind of a beautiful thing."

I laughed at his hesitation, "Upset you have to share us, hm?"

Shinji glared at me, "That's your stick," Was he always this blunt? "Jokes aside, I'm kinda surprised. That they opted to stay here with us, rather than go out and save the world."

"What do you intend to do, once the world is right again?" I asked, curious, "You never had much hope for the future, huh?"

"I have a dream now," he smiled, looking on into the moonlit sky, "When the world is right again, I want to help rebuild Hope's Peak. I want to revive it as a place of hope, of creating a better future."

I thought to myself before answering, "Finally, you have something to work towards. It's about damn time."

Shinji smirked, "Alright, Sassy Beast..." he laid down on his arms folded behind his head, "I'm thinkin' of being a teacher. It's the job Mister Ultimate Cadaver wanted... And if I could inspire my students, keep them off the path to Despair, well... That would make this all worth it."

"Still the same sentimental manwhore as ever," I teased him like old times, giving him a confident smile, "I missed those simpler times, you know."

He grabbed me and held me close to him as he sat upright. I was blushing like crazy, but he ignored it, "You won't be miserable while I'm here, I promise." Damn it; why is he so cool now!?

I pushed him away, "Come on, that's enough. Don't tease me... We're not a couple anymore."

"Since when did I agree to that, missus?" He patted me on my head, "I'm not one for breaking girls' hearts, you know."

"Eat a dick," I glared at him, "You started this by doing just that."

He held me close to him, and my face turned red once more as I unconsciously nuzzled against his arm, "But you're so much more delicious-looking... Shinju..." he didn't know how to express himself, "I know about... Well, our history, now. That doesn't bother me anymore."

"But-"

Shinji put his finger to my lips, silencing me, "Listen for a second..." he finally opened up, "I've seen you guys murder your family, torture entire groups of adults, children, animals. Genocide, dismemberment, rape, ritual sacrifice..." he shuddered, "I was forced to witness the absolute worst in human behaviour. Every sacred rule we humans have, broken wide open. At the hands of all of us... Compared to that, loving you is a victimless crime."

I didn't know how to comfort him, or even if I could. What horrible things had he seen? Was it really all that bad...?

Then again, memories came to mind. I murdered my own parents while smiling, and it hadn't been a quick affair. I dragged it out for my own amusement... At least, the old me did.

"Besides, I know the results of denying you my affection now." That smug bastard...

I slapped him in the chest, "Not funny."

"I don't know, he has a point," the two of us turned, and my sister, Tojiko, was giving me that same devilish smirk whenever she tried to get me in trouble at home, "We could do without another killing game."

Shinji arose to his feet and bowed, kissing her gently on the hand when she held it out for him, "Greetings, my dear. What would you want from us?"

Tojiko puffed out her cheeks, "You idiot, you invited me here!"

"What for?" I asked, not in the know.

Shinji just shrugged, "Oh, I dunno. I've forgotten myself... Or maybe it was Tojiko who suggested this meeting..."

"Don't sell me out, dumbass!" Sis flicked him on the nose.

A bead of sweat crept down my face, "What am I in for now...?"

Tojiko blushed, "Well, you know... I kind of, sort of... fell for Shinji."

"I saw the game," I answered her, "Thought you'd have better taste."

"She does," Shinji remarked. What was he...?

That was when Tojiko kissed me on the lips. I couldn't even push her away, I was so in shock. She pulled away and admitted, "Guess why I was so jealous of him, huh, sis? You're not the only one who wanted to keep it in the family..."

I took a step back, "Oh, please no... Tojiko, th-that's..."

"Not willing to date your sister, huh? Wish I had the choice back then..." Shinji was digging it in. He planned this to get me back, the fucker! God, but... It's so taboo! We're not even related, but it's... It's still weird!

Tojiko stepped towards me, "Onee-chan..." Realizing I only had one option left, I turned and ran.

"I'm not ready for this kind of development!" I yelled into the night. I heard footsteps behind me, and surely enough, Tojiko was giving chase.

"Come on, sis! Don't knock it 'til you tried it!"

"Not helping!" I screamed back at her.

 **-Shinji's POV-**

Watching those two idiots run off brought a smile to my face. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth quite yet...

I did some more intensive research, and as it turned out, Hope's Peak's records had made a slip up. They were correct in that the Tojo son died, and that a child was given to replace them. However, Shinju wasn't a twin of mine... No, to my surprise, the DNA test proved that.

I had one done in the future with her DNA, just for closure. Lo and behold, we weren't actually blood related.

I went about trying to solve that mystery for quite a while; who was actually twins? As it turns out, my mother DID give birth to twins, but my sister died. So while mother held it against me as I originally suspected, Shinju was not my relative.

No, Shinju's true sibling was...

"Hey, Shinji. Did you tell her?" I turned to Nari, who was dressed up in her uniform now, "Why are you smiling like that?"

I explained to her the prank I'd pulled, "Let's tell her after, okay? This is pretty funny to watch."

Nari and I observed Shinju continuing to flee from Tojiko's grasp in the forest maze below us.

Thanks to an automated garden on the second island, we were able to trade with the mainland for supplies we needed. We would be able to live quite lavishly until we returned to the mainland. I was excited to be a teacher, and had already began studying.

Nari worked hard alongside me, forcing me to undergo vigorous training sessions with her, the punishments for which were harsh and unforgiving. She intended to train me to match her incredibly strict standards, even if it killed me. Despite that, she did show off her motherly side every so often, making me more open to considering having children.

Mayumi built a new shrine on the island to resemble the old one, since we intended to expand Hope's Peak here anyways. She tended to the shrine as she often did, teaching the rest of us the rules and rituals. Luckily for me, I could mimic other talents, or I'd never have been able to handle it.

Koneko continued on Gundham's work of taming and breeding rare species to repopulate the world's ecosystems after the rampant destruction caused by the World's End. Tigers, bears, orcas, cats, and many more mundane or exotic creatures passed through her hands.

Granberia created an international network of security forces who would intervene in major world events in the future; led by the stoic Commander Granberry. She grew a loyal cult following of young female fans who instead referred to her affectionately as 'Admiral', much to her chagrin.

Shizue united the world in her love of cosplay and the other remnants of Otaku culture, distracting people from the tragedies that had scarred the world and tried to destroy us. Battling douchebag elitists and judgmental pricks alike, she was known as The Great Net Lurker, forging friendships and communities while obliterating the more toxic elements with incredibly deep, scathing, and true savage remarks to any and all who dared troll her realm.

Tojiko wrote a book about all of our experiences, using my journals of the events with the accounts of others and the virtual program to pen a book on our arduous journey. Though many claimed it was merely a fictitious novel dramatizing the events, other Ultimates knew our stories were true, as anything could happen in a world so seriously strange.

Shinju eventually returned to writing poetry, giving back to the world wonderful stories of the Remnants of Hope as our class was eventually nicknamed. She helped others experience the true feelings of being Despair as well, creating a large movement of people that wished to rehabilitate them rather than execute them. Ex-members of Ultimate Despair and certain members of Future Foundation were both rumored to support this movement from the shadows.

 **That was the end to our story for now... A story of hope and despair, of time travel and simulations, of betrayal and mutual understanding... If anything ever happens, I'll be here to report on it. This is Shinji Kizami, lone survivor of the Zero Timeline, signing off...**

 **Author's Note: Well, this epilogue was a wild ride, huh? I never expected it to become so complicated, but I'm satisfied with this ending. Considering how Danganronpa 3 has been going, I decided on a happier ending. That being said, there are other side stories I could write, and I do have in mind another potential Dangan story (featuring almost exclusively characters from the actual series), so if anyone cares for that, I might write those up in my spare time. Any suggestions to said side stories are certainly welcome.**

 **But as for the main story, it's finally over. I hope that this story was worth the read, and that it could help hold you over for the upcoming next game. It's been a long journey, so this is me, signing off as well. ^-^ :D**


End file.
